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Witnessing
Fear of Witnessing
To overcome the fear we all experience when
considering approaching someone with the gospel
we need to have a conviction
that God has given us something to say that our audience needs desperately to
hear. Such a conviction will free us from fear.
For example
consider a person walking down
a street who notices a meeting of a large group of people inside a building.
Then he sees a fire in the upper part of the building where the meeting is
being held. He would immediately run in and tell the people to get out. And
there would be no fearful thoughts and hesitation. Why? Because he knows that
they needed to hear what he had to say. How convinced are we that people need
to hear a word from God?
──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Fear of Witnessing
Have you ever had to paint a second or third
story of a house? You get about halfway up that double or triple extension
ladder and it begins to bend and bounce with your every movement. Then you
start wondering about the ladder and its footing and where you will end up when
it crashes to the earth so far below you. So
in fear and terror
you stop
where you are and cling to the ladder
looking neither up nor down.
Eventually you realize that you must paint
the house and that you can’t reach it from where you are. So
mustering up all
your courage and recalling that you have never seen such a ladder fall over
you conquer the next rung and inch your way to the next
then the next. Finally
you reach the top of the ladder and cling to it for your life. Now that you’ve
arrived
you ask yourself how you can take one hand off the ladder to use the
paintbrush and not plummet to the earth below. But you do. You begin. After a
bit of scraping
the wood soaks up the paint. You whistle and admire the fine
job you are doing. Soon the terror is forgotten.
You’ve learned an important lesson of life
from this. No matter what high responsibility you take on
it’s scary
very
scary—until you start working.
──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Fear of Witnessing
LeRoy Eims told of an event which he and his
son
Randy
witnessed in Istanbul
Turkey. They were sitting in a restaurant
and looked out the window in surprise and unbelief at a huge brown bear
muzzled and on a leash. When a crowd of people had gathered
the bear’s owner
shook a tambourine
and immediately the bear stood up on its hind legs and
began to dance around. Then
on command
the bear lay on its back and rolled
from side to side. As the crowd applauded in appreciation
the tambourine
became a collection plate. Suddenly a small
mangy
mongrel dog came leaping
out from behind the bushes and began barking at the bear. But the mighty bear
which should have been able to dispatch the dog with one swipe of its powerful
paw
was both helpless and terrified and bounded around
trying dart away to
find a place to hide.
What was the problem? Why was this
magnificent wild beast afraid of a scruffy little dog? There were two reasons—the
bear was both muzzled and declawed. It was a pathetic sight
but what made it
even more sad was that it was a picture of so many Christians: muzzled
for
they feel unable to speak
and weaponless
for they are unable to use the Sword
of the Spirit. As a result
we
like that bear
often find ourselves helpless
and fearful as if under siege
whenever we attempt to share our faith. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Examples of
Witnessing
Someone has defined
tact as "dealing with others as we would have them deal with
us." The word comes from the
Latin term tactus and means "to touch." We must seek to touch the hearts of
people--not knock them down with a club!
We should carefully weigh our words and study our approach. Each prospective convert must be handled
in a different way. Zeal alone is
not enough. To win souls
we should
use the head as well as the heart.
A barber attended a
meeting one night where the speaker stressed the need to witness for
Christ. The man felt convicted
so
he determined he would speak to the first person who came into his shop. The next morning after the customer had
been seated and the apron tucked around his neck
the barber began to strop his
razor vigorously. Then testing the
edge
he turned to the man in the chair and asked
"Friend
are you ready
to die and meet God?" The man
looked at the razor and fled out the door -- apron and all! The barber had zeal
but not according
to knowledge.
Let us always ask
the Lord for that rare trait called "tact" so that we can reach folks
for Christ. -- M.R. DeHaan
Witnessing
I have a few friends
who are avid fishermen. What
zeal! What persistence! What careful methods they employ! Oh
that we might show similar
enthusiasm and care for men and women who need Christ.
A Sunday school
teacher was telling her pupils the story of Andrew and Simon
recounting the
Lord's command to follow Him and become fishers of men. Hoping to impress the story deep in
their hearts
she asked
"Who catches men nowadays?" One boy blurted out
"Policemen." The teacher
was quick to point out the difference between officers of the law and
soul-winners. She said
"Policemen catch people to bring them before a judge. But soul-winners catch sinners to bring
them before a Savior."
── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Witness by Life
Some years ago
on returning from a business trip
a man brought his wife some souvenirs. Among them was a matchbox that would
glow in the dark. After giving it to her
he turned out the light
but the
object was not visible. “This must be a joke!” she said. Disappointed
the
husband commented
“I’ve been cheated!” Then his wife noticed some French words
on the box. Taking it to a friend who knew the language
she was told that the
directions read: “If you want me to shine at night
keep me in the sunlight all
day.” So she put her gift in a south window. That evening when she turned out
the light
the matchbox had a brilliant glow. The surprised husband asked
“What did you do?” “Oh
I found the secret
” she said. “Before it can shine in
the dark
it must be exposed to the light.”
Just as the matchbox
having been exposed to the
sun
took on the nature of the sun and began to shine
so Christians should
constantly expose themselves to the Son
that they may take on his nature and
shine as lights in a dark world. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
In the days before electricity had been harnessed
oil lamps were used for lighting. But to have them work to the maximum
the
wicks had to be carefully trimmed to spread the flame evenly
and the globes
had to be cleaned so as to be clear and shiny.
Christians are like oil lamps: they need to emit a
steady
unobstructed light-the light of Christ-like life in them. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
In winter months in the northern states
salt and
sand are put on the roads to make driving safer. This mixture eventually
becomes plastered on the sides of cars
making them filthy and unattractive.
One dirty car looks about the same as another. About the time that everyone is
used to the universally grayish color of cars
a warm spell comes along and
some energetic person will wash his car. Then the difference is apparent. One
clean car makes all the difference in showing how much dirt has accumulated on
the other cars!
The believer’s lifestyle should be like that one
clean car. It should stand out so brightly that in contrast the unbeliever’s
lifestyle is seen for what it is-murky and marred by the darkness of sin. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
Jim
an elder at a church
was to oversee the
evangelism of new people that moved into the area. Sun Lee and his family were
Vietnamese refugees who had recently been moved into the area. They had no
possessions
knew no one
needed help in every way. Jim began by helping them
to get food and then spent much time finding Sun Lee a good job. Jim wanted so
much to tell Sun Lee about Jesus Christ
but he didn’t know Vietnamese and the
refugees knew very little English. Both men sought to learn the other’s
language so that they could become better friends.
One day
Jim felt that he knew enough now to tell
Sun Lee about Jesus. Jim began to explain about God and Jesus to Sun Lee
but
the more he talked
the more confusing it seemed to get. Sun Lee would repeat
in Vietnamese a little of what Jim said in English. Finally
Jim was so
frustrated that he decided to give up trying to communicate until he had
learned more Vietnamese. Sun Lee at this point blurted out
“Is your God like
you? If he is
I want to know him.” Jim explained that Jesus Christ was greater
than he was
far greater. Yet Sun Lee wanted to know more about Jesus Christ if
he was like Jim! Jim had thought for all these months that he was not
communicating the gospel. But he was
with the greatest form of communication a
person can use-the example of a life filled with Jesus Christ. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
A minister was making a wooden trellis to support a
climbing vine. As he was pounding away
he noticed that a little boy was
watching him. The youngster didn’t say a word
so the preacher kept on working
thinking the lad would leave. But he didn’t. Pleased at the thought that his
work was being admired
the pastor said
“Well
son
trying to pick up some
pointers on gardening?” “No
” replied the boy
“I’m just waiting to hear what a
preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
A Christian’s life should stand out to the world as
different. We should be like zebras among horses. When our life is
indistinguishable from the world’s
we are like albino zebras. They really are
zebras
their parents are zebras
they know they are zebras on the inside. But
to all who see them from the outside they are no different from horses. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
We are the only Bible
The careless world will need
We are the sinner’s gospel
We are the scoffer’s creed
We are the Lord’s last message
Given in deed and word.
What if the type is crooked?
What if the print is blurred?— Annie Johnson
Flint
It’s not our choice as to whether or not we
believers wish to be epistles of Christ. We just are! What is the message
others read in you?
──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
When budget cuts sharply curtailed athletic
programs at an inner-city high school in Chicago one year
LaSalle Street
Church stepped in to help. A staff member of this evangelical inner-city
congregation drove the basketball team to their away games in the church van
and the team’s athletic banquet was prepared and served at the church. After
the season ended
the players attended a Christian ranch in Colorado
where all
made commitments to Christ. The living witness of LaSalle Street church members
sowed some healthy seeds of faith in the young people which later bore fruit. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
The effect of the Christian life lived out in
difficult situations is often quite dramatic and forceful in its impact on the
non-Christian. An article that appeared in Christianity Today (June 21
1974)
was about Christians in the Soviet Union. A former criminal
Kozlov
later a
church leader
wrote of life in a Soviet prison:
“Among the general despair
while prisoners like
myself were cursing ourselves
the camp
the authorities; while we opened up
our veins or our stomachs
or hanged ourselves; the Christians (often with
sentences of 20 to 25 years) did not despair. One could see Christ reflected in
their faces. Their pure
upright life
deep faith and devotion to God
their
gentleness and their wonderful manliness became a shining example of real life
for thousands.”
──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
A Chinese farmer
after having cataracts removed
from his eyes
made his way from the Christian compound to the far interior of
China. Only a few days elapsed
however
before the missionary doctor looked
out of his bamboo window and noticed this formerly blind man holding the front
end of a long rope. In single file and holding to the rope behind him several
dozen blind Chinese whom the farmer had rounded up and led for miles to the
doctor who had worked the “miracle” on his eyes. What a recommendation!
Restored sight was cause enough for this man to share what had happened to him
with those of like condition. Just so with the gospel of Christ. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
The story has been told of a missionary to China
who was in language school. The very first day of class the teacher entered the
room and
without saying a word
walked down every row of students. Finally
still without saying a word
she walked out of the room again. Then she came
back and addressed the class.
“Did you notice anything special about me?” she
asked. Nobody could think of anything in particular. One student finally raised
her hand. “I noticed that you had on a very lovely perfume
” she said. The
class chuckled. But the teacher said
“That was exactly the point. You see
it
will be a long time before any of you will be able to speak Chinese well enough
to share the gospel with anyone in China. But even before you are able to do
that
you can minister the sweet fragrance of Christ to these people by the
quality of your lives. It is your lifestyle
lived out among the Chinese
people
that will minister Christ to them long before you are able to say one
word to them about personal faith in Jesus.”
It is like that with us as well. Though we may not
be eloquent speakers
unbelievers we encounter will be ministered to by the Christ-likeness
of our daily lives
if indeed we are Christ-like. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
Dr. Charles Weigle
who is probably best known for
his song “No One Ever Cared for me Like Jesus
” was once preaching at a Bible
conference in Pasadena
California. He spent one afternoon visiting some of the
famous rose gardens in that city. When he returned to the Bible conference
later that day
a number of people inquired as to how he had enjoyed the lovely
gardens. Mystified by their knowledge of his leisure time
he inquired as to
how they knew where he had been. The response was
“You have brought the
fragrance of the flowers with you.”
S
too
can our lives bring “the fragrance of the
knowledge of him (Christ) everywhere” (2 Cor. 2:14
NIV). ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
A Chinese National
Christiana Tsai
told of her
ministry to her family after years of suffering pain through many illnesses.
One day
one of her brothers
who had rejected the gospel
assembled the
members of the family without them knowing the purpose behind it. He then told
them: “I have been to see Christiana many times and wondered how she could
endure all this suffering. Now I can see that she has been given some
sustaining power and can only explain it as coming from God. So
I have decided
there must be a God after all. I have read the Bible and realize that I am a
sinner. So here and now I want to tell you that I have accepted Christ as my
Savior
asked Him to forgive my sins
and promised to follow Him.”
Christiana commented that “the brother who tore up
my Bible and persecuted me in the early days at last confessed my Lord. In all
fifty-five of my relatives have become God’s children and expressed their faith
in Jesus. I have never been to college
or theological seminary
and I am not a
Bible teacher; I have only been God’s hunting dog.”— Cited in Christiana Tsai
Queen
of the Dark Chamber
Inconsistency in Witnessing
Allowing the encumbrances and sins of the world to
clog your life affects your witness in the world in the same way water in the
kerosene affects a camping stove. The flame will flutter and sputter
or maybe
go out completely. It is useless for light or heat.
Likewise
when our lives are fouled with impurities
in our spiritual fuel tank
our light will sputter-until the fuel is again
clean. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Inconsistency in Witnessing
When visiting in a remote neighborhood
a pastor
stopped at a house and asked the man who lived there to visit his church the
next Sunday
mentioning at the same time that the man’s neighbor went to that
church. On hearing this
the man said he would never go to that church because
he wanted nothing to do with a religion that would have a man like his neighbor
in it. In fact
he said
his neighbor was the worst neighbor he had ever had.
The pastor
seeing that the man had a piano
asked
the man’s little girl to play a piece by Beethoven that was lying on the piano.
The man said that Beethoven’s music was far too advanced for his daughter. But
the pastor insisted
and the little girl gave it a try. Needless to say
she
almost destroyed the piece.
After the little girl was finished
the pastor
said
“Boy
that Beethoven sure wasn’t much of a composer
was he?” On hearing
this
the man suddenly realized that he
too
had been judging the music of
Christian living by the player rather than by the composer.
Let us all try to be good players
but let us not
judge the composer by the player. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Witness by Life
You are writing a Gospel
A chapter each day
By deeds that you do
By words that you say.
Men read what you write
Whether faithless or true
Say! What is the gospel
According to YOU?
── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Washington -- Graffiti
from the 1800s discovered by workers renovating the Washington Monument has
quite a different tone from that usually found today on the sides of buildings
and subway cars.
"Whoever is the human
instrument under God in the conversion of one soul
erects a monument to his
own memory more lofty and enduing (sic) than this
" reads the inscription
which can now be viewed by visitors to the monument.
It is signed BFB. No one
knows who that is
or who left the small drawings and 19th century dates on
other walls.
The markings in the lobby
of the monument were covered over when it was decorated at the turn of the
century. They were found when workers removed marble wainscoting as part of a
year-long $500
000 renovation which was just completed.
Spokesman-Review
June
1994.
George Sweeting
in his
book The No-Guilt Guide for Witnessing
tells of a man by the name of John
Currier who in 1949 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Later he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville
Tennessee.
In 1968
Currier's
sentence was terminated
and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him.
But John never saw the letter
nor was he told anything about it. Life on that
farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet John kept doing what he
was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died.
Ten years went by. Then a
state parole officer learned about Currier's plight
found him
and told him
that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.
Sweeting concluded that
story by asking
"Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important
message -- the most important in your life -- and year after year the urgent
message was never delivered?"
We who have heard the good
news and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to
others still enslaved by sin. Are we doing all we can to make sure that people
get the message?
Our Daily Bread
November 6
1994.
The phone rang and I
greeted a young pastor friend from Arlington
Virginia.
"What are you
doing?" he asked.
"Studying
" I
replied. "Nothing special."
"Are you sitting
down?"
"Yes
why?"
"Your father just
trusted Christ this evening."
"He what? You've got
to be kidding!" I blurted out.
Such an inappropriate
response grew out of long detours in our father-son journey. Ever since I
received Christ as a boy my concern has been for the salvation of my family and
loved ones. On repeated occasions I had broached the subject of the gospel with
dad
but his response was less than excited.
My father has always been
a very important person to me. Not that I approved of everything he said or did
or that I imitated him consciously in any way. We weren't really close friends
either. But he was important in my life because of the indirect impact he made
upon me.
Dad was a military man. He
had seen action around the world. During the periods when he was embroiled in
battle
I would become very sensitive to his spiritual need. I and my family
prayed for him
but at times I'm afraid my faith sputtered. His response was
always the same: Son
don't worry about me. I'll work it out with God (as if
God could be manipulated like a Pentagon official).
God brought a man into my
life
a man with a passion for men. His name was Butch Hardman. One day before
we knew each other Butch was boarding a plane in Detroit when a friend handed
him a cassette tape.
"Ever hear Hendricks?
Here's a tape you should listen to." On that tape I related my father's
spiritual need.
Butch listened and
something about the anecdote reminded him of his own father with whom he had
shared Christ shortly before he died. He began to pray for this unknown man
George Hendricks. Some months later Butch attended a pastors' conference in
Philadelphia where I was the speaker. He shook my hand afterward. That was the
only time our paths crossed before a remarkable incident in Arlington.
Butch was driving the
church bus down the street
having discharged all his passengers. He saw a man
standing on the corner who reminded him uncannily of Howard Hendricks. Could it
possibly be...? He backed up the bus
stopped
got off
and went over to the
man.
"Are you by any
chance Howard Hendricks' father?"
It is easy to imagine the
startled response. "Er-ah (I can envision my father's critical once-over
with his steely blue eyes) yeah -- you a student of my son?"
"No
I'm not
but he
sure has helped me. Got time for a cup of coffee?"
That encounter began a
friendship
skillfully engineered by the Spirit of God. Butch undoubtedly
sensed dad's hesitancy when he discovered he had met a preacher. For a long
time Butch did not invite him to attend his church. He simply suggested that
dad drop by the office for coffee. Patiently he endured dad's cigars and his
endless repertoire of war stories. Before long he also learned that dad had
been diagnosed as having a terminal throat cancer.
Months later Butch was at
his bedside. "Mr. Hendricks
I'll be leaving shortly for a Holy Land trip.
Instead of my listening to you tonight
would you let me tell you a
story?"
Butch had earned his
hearing and he began simply to relate the interview of Jesus Christ with
Nicodemus as recorded by the Apostle John. At the conclusion dad accepted
Butch's invitation to receive Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. Then dad
got up out of bed
stood
and saluted with a smile. "No I'm under a new
Commander-in-Chief!" That night Butch called Dallas.
The last time I saw dad
alive I could not believe he was the same man I had known. His frame was
wasted
but his spirit was more virile than I had ever known.
In accordance with dad's
specific provision in his will
Butch Hardman conducted the crisp military
funeral in Arlington cemetery where the gospel of Jesus Christ was presented to
the small group of family and military attendants. As the guns saluted their
final farewell
I knew God had vindicated forty-two years of prayer.
Howard and Jeanne
Hendricks
Footprints
Multnomah Press
1981
Page 16-19.
I was speaking at an
open-air crusade in Halifax
Nova Scotia. Billy Graham was to speak the next
night and had arrived a day early. He came incognito and sat on the grass at
the rear of the crowd. Because he was wearing a hat and dark glasses
no one
recognized him.
Directly in front of him
sat an elderly gentleman who seemed to be listening intently to my
presentation. When I invited people to come forward as an open sign of
commitment
Billy decided to do a little personal evangelism. He tapped the man
on the shoulder and asked
"Would you like to accept Christ? I'll be glad
to walk down with you if you want to." The old man looked him up and
down
thought it over for a moment
and then said
"Naw
I think I'll just
wait till the big gun comes tomorrow night."
Billy and I have had
several good chuckles over that incident. Unfortunately
it underlines how
in
the minds of many people
evangelism is the task of the "Big Guns
"
not the "little shots."
Lieghton Ford
Good
News is for Sharing
1977
David C.Cook Publishing Co.
Page 67.
The Thames
flowing
through London
was at low tide
causing the freighter to be anchored a
distance from shore. The long plank
which led from the ship across the mud
flats to the bank
suddenly began to jiggle precariously. The smallish
man who was carefully pushing his barrow across the plank from the freighter to
the shore lost his balance and found himself tumbling into the muddy waters. A
roar of laughter erupted from the dockers and from the tall worker on board
ship
who had jiggled the plank. The muddied man's instinctive reaction
was anger. The fall was painful; he was dripping wet and knee deep in
muck. "This is your opportunity
" a voice whispered in his
heart.
The victim
unknown to his
tormenters
was a clergyman disguised as a docker in hopes of getting to know
how the dockers felt
lived and struggled. Perhaps as he gained their
confidence and made friends
he could tell them of the love of the Savior
who
died to give them new life and hope and joy. George Dempster came up
laughing.
A docker made his way to
where Dempster had been dislodged
dropped some empty boxes into the slush and
jumped down to help him out. "You took that all right
" he said as he
helped Dempster clamber back to the boxes he had dropped. His accent was not
that of a cockney. He was no ordinary docker.
Dempster told the story of
this unusual docker in Finding Men for Christ. He recounted the ensuing events:
"Did I? Well
what's
the use of being otherwise?" I replied and followed this by a challenge.
"You haven't been at
this game long."
"Neither have
you
" he retorted.
"No! And I shan't be
at it much longer if I can help it.
Tell me your yarn
and
I'll tell you mine."
I was watching his face as
well as I could with my eyes still half full of mud. He was trying to scrape
some of the slime from me and meanwhile becoming almost as filthy as I
was. We agreed to exchange yarns. I therefore proposed that we
should adjourn to a coffee shop nearby and over a warm drink exchange the story
of our experiences
and how we came to be "down under" life's
circumstances.
Along we journeyed through
Wapping High Street
up Nightingale Lane to London Docks and so "To where
I dossed (slept). When we reached the Alley and I indicated the door he said
"Do they let beds here?"
"Well
" I
replied
"I sleep here
come in and see."
"Oh! I've often
passed this place but did not know they put men up here."
We entered and I
instructed that a cup of coffee and something be brought for my friend
while I
disappeared without explaining to anybody exactly how I came to be so
inelegantly decorated.
Mud baths had not yet
become a prescribed treatment for certain human ailments
but never could such
a remedy
however well prepared or appropriately prescribed
prove so effectual
as this one. It had been involuntarily taken it is true
but for like results
who would not undertake even such drastic treatment daily? "His ways are
higher than our ways." His permissions are all for somebody's good
and in
this instance the reason for His permission was not long unrevealed. A hurried
bath soon put me right. After donning my usual attire
while seeking Divine
guidance I hastened to return.
"Here we are
now for
our yarns
" I began.
He was staring in amazement
and was for a few moments lost for reply.
"This is your yarn
is it? What do you do this for?"
The first part of his
question needed no reply
but I did not hesitate to answer the second.
"To find you."
He looked perplexed as we
sat gazing at each other; then dropping his eyes before my enquiring look
shook his head sadly and rose as if to depart. Restraining him I said cheerily:
"Now
friend
a
bargain is a bargain. Thank you for helping me out of the river and thus giving
me the privilege of meeting you
but you promised
you know
and I want that
story of yours. You can see mine."
He was a tall
well-built
man in middle life. There were indications beyond his speech that his years had
not been spent in his present conditions and surroundings. His features gave
evidence of intellect
and the obvious deterioration was recent. His expression
was softening even as we stood facing each other. The previous callous demeanor
was giving place to something finer. I pursued the question
feeling certain now
that here was the purpose of my adventure.
"Come now
tell me if
I can be of help to you."
Very decisively he
answered at once
"No
you cannot."
"Why?"
"Because I've gone
too far."
As I prayed silently
presently he looked me squarely in the face as if measuring whether he could
trust me and confide. No words came
so I continued.
"Does it not appeal
to you as a very remarkable thing
" I asked
"that we should be
sitting here like this if you have really gone too far?"
No answer.
"Was it an accidental
thing that I happened to get a job alongside you at that particular wharf this
morning? Was it mere chance that those rascals chose me for their rather cruel
joke? Is it pure coincidence that of all the crowd you should be the one to
fish me out? Or -- did Someone know where to find you and is even now answering
someone else's prayer for you?"
From the pocket he drew
hastily two photographs. "These are mine
" he said
laying them
gently upon the table. One was the picture of a fine-looking lady
the other
bore the figures of two bonnie young girls of nearly equal age
obviously the
daughters of the elder woman. I was looking closely at them when I heard
a groan and then a sob as my friend again dropped his head upon his arms.
"Yours! And you here
like this? Why?" It was a sad story
but
alas
only too familiar.
Bit by bit I got it from
him; although several times with an almost fierce "it's too late
" he
would have left me. He was a fully qualified medical man with a fine
record. He had married into a well-known family where there was no lack
of money. Having conducted a splendid practice in the south of England
all
went well for him for years. Two girls were born to them
and it was a happy
home with a very wide circle of friends.
But as so frequently
happens
the allurements proved too strong for the man whose gifts and natural
endowments made him a popular and welcome guest wherever he went. He was too
busy to continue his regular attendance at church; gradually he ceased
altogether and always had plenty of excuses to offer when his wife urged him to
accompany her.
The girls were sent away
to school where they were educated with a view to following a medical career
but he who should have been their guide and helper failed in his obligations
because he had become addicted to drink. At first this fact was hidden
but the habit grew stronger until it mastered him. His practice as well as his
home and family were neglected. This naturally led to great unhappiness and
depression. In spite of the loving devotion and care of his wife and daughters
he went from bad to worse and finally decided to disappear. So by a number of
subterfuges he effectually vanished from the world which knew him and became a
wanderer.
After years of wander in
America and Canada
he returned to London. He had never been discovered; he had
never communicated with his kin. Down
down he went
living the life of a
casual hand
sometimes finding a job
sometimes literally begging for
food. He slept out at night
often in lodging houses with those with whom
he had nothing in common save a degraded and sinful way of life. When he could
get drink
he took all he could obtain to drown his sorrows. Once he was
lodged in the Tower Bridge Police cells but was discharged and warned. He had
simply been found "drunk and incapable
" and his identity had not
been revealed.
Now this thing had
happened
and it could not be explained away by saying it was a coincidence.
There was more in it than that. "Someone" had known where to find
him. Suppose those three whom he had so shamefully deserted had been all
the time praying for his recovery? Recovery that he had so foolishly resisted
-- so often longed for -- so often dreamed of. Suppose it were true that
God was now "causing all things to work together for good to them" --
those three -- "that love Him"? Suppose that He was at this moment
giving him another --possibly a last -- chance to return?
Such
he later admitted
were his thoughts
and he began to pray for himself. He had known in past days
the comforts and consolations of worship. Now he began to pray very deeply and
truly as he heard from a friend the old
old message. Presently he said
calmly
"I see
" and kneeling by the table
he and I talked with God.
Never can I forget his
prayer. At first the halting
stumbling petition of a brokenhearted
repentant sinner who felt acutely two things. First
his base ingratitude
to a merciful God Who had not cut him off in the midst of his sins
and then
the cruelty of his conduct toward those who loved him on earth. As he confessed
his feelings in these ways
he seemed to become capable of clearer utterance.
How long we thus communed
I do not know
but we were both much moved as we stood to shake hands. I seemed
to feel again his grip on mine as I now record these happenings.
"And you will stand
by me?"
"Yes
" I
answered
"as well as another man can."
"Then I'll prove what
Christ can do."
We then fell to
considering whether it would be advisable to write at once to his wife and tell
her the news.
"No! Not yet. Please
God we'll try and improve matters before we do that. I must find out more about
the position there first. There are the girls to think about. I must not spoil
their careers. About now they must be in the midst of their exams. No! Please
wait a while until by God's help I am a little more like a father they need not
be ashamed of -- then!"
So we planned. With the
aid of a friend who had influence in a certain large
well-known company
he
was found a berth in the warehouse
packing drugs and chemicals. In a few
weeks
the results were surprising. He was found to be so useful that a better
paid job was offered him. Soon it was discovered that he knew a great
deal about the contents of the packets he was handling
and when he admitted
that the work of a dispenser was not strange to him
he was again
promoted.
It was then that he agreed
to my suggestions to write to his wife and inform her that he was alive and
well. Very carefully I wrote
telling her something of the events above recorded
and suggesting that if she would like to see me on the matter I would gladly
arrange to meet her.
A letter came back
breathing deep gratitude to God for His wonderful answer to prayer and for His
mercy. An expression of appreciation for the human agency He had provided
and
an explanation that the two daughters were facing some difficult hospital
examinations. It would therefore
she thought
be best to defer any meeting
until they were through. But would I please keep her informed of his progress.
It was a wonderfully understanding and gracious letter considering all the
circumstances.
I showed him the
letter. He was deeply moved as he carefully and eagerly read it
then
returning it to me he said quietly
"I must ask you to honor her wishes. Painful
as delay is to me
I must submit. I deserve it and much more. Will you now pray
with me that I may prove worthy of her confidence and their love?"
Six months passed
each day bringing continuous evidence of the "new
birth" and of his loyalty to Christ. There was no wavering or falling
back. Whatever struggles he had with the enemy
no one saw the least evidence
of any weakness. In every way he was proving that he was "a new
creature
" that "old thingshad passed away."
Two brief notes had come
from the wife asking more details than my letters conveyed. I gladly told her
all she desired to learn. Then one day there came a letter asking me to
arrange a time for her to visit me. This was soon done
and without telling
either of them what I had planned
I made my own arrangements. He was not
informed of the impending visit but patiently awaited developments.
In due time the day
arrived
and the wife kept her appointment. I instantly recognized the lady of
the photograph
and to my intense delight she had brought her elder daughter
with her. Both were much affected as I told them as much as I deemed needful of
the facts. I felt it would be wise to leave the husband to give his own version
of affairs.
Then
at a suitable
moment
I said
"Would you like to see him at once?" I had not
revealed to them that I had him in an adjoining room. But when the wife and
daughter said eagerly together "Yes
please
" I opened the door and
led them in to him. The lady had approached her husband with a smile of
welcome and had kissed him; the daughter had put her arms about her father's
neck
and I heard just two words
"Dad
darling." It was no
place for an outsider
so I made for my study and there lay the whole case
again before the Father
asking that His will should be done. He heard and
answered.
For an hour I left them
alone. Then he came to fetch me. His eyes were very red
and I thought he
walked with a new and firmer step. No word was said
but he looked his
deep gratitude as he beckoned me to return with him. As I entered the
room
the wife approached me with an eager look which spoke eloquently of the
tense feelings she had. When
after a few moments
she found voice
it
was to tell me that it had been arranged to await the second daughter's examinations
which were just pending. This girl did not yet know the purport of her mother's
visit to London that day with the sister
who now told me on top of her own
success in the exams
she was overjoyed at finding her father.
"Do dare not tell
Margery yet. She is rather highly strung
and as Dad says
it might interfere
with her progress. But won't she be just delighted. You know she has never
ceased praying for this." So spoke the daughter
still holding her
father's hand
as if unwilling to part again. It was a most affecting scene
and one felt that there was Another present
rejoicing with us. "If all
goes well we shall
please God
make home again when Margery is through
and oh
what a day that will be."
The mother was now feeling
the stress of it all and needed rest and refreshment. A happy little meal was
prepared
and thanks were given to Him Who had thus brought His promises to
fulfillment. But the best was yet to be. A happy home was restored.
In a certain south coast
town
a place famous for its exhilarating air and for many of its citizens who
have made history
there is held every Sunday afternoon a Bible class for young
men. Sixty or more of the finest young fellows in that district meet week by
week. It has been the birthplace of many splendid young Christians. Some of
them have entered the Civil Service and today hold important positions at
Whitehall
where I have had the joy of meeting them.
Coming one day along one
of the corridors in the colonial office
I met a friend who said
"I'm
very glad to see you today
because I promised that the next time you came this
way I would ask you to come along with me and meet a man who wants to see you.
He has another friend in the home office who also wants to meet you. Have you
the time to do so?"
I assented and was led to
the room indicated. Here was a man holding a responsible position who
upon
being introduced
said
"I'm glad to meet you
sir
because I have an idea
that you must be the gentleman of whom a very dear friend of mine often spoke. May
I ask if you were acquainted with Dr. ______?"
"Yes indeed
I know
him very well."
"Then I guess you are
the one of whom he spoke. I owe everything in life after my own parents to Dr.
______. He was a wonderful factor in the shaping of my career and that of many
others. How did you come to know him
sir
if I may so question? And do
you know his gifted family?"
Of course I could not tell
him under what circumstances I had first met the doctor
the beloved physician
who had sat in the leader's chair of that Bible class Sunday by Sunday teaching
youths the Way of Life
nor that it was he who had helped me out of the river
that day when I had my involuntary mud bath.
George Dempster
Finding
Men for Christ
London: Hodder & Stroughton
1935
quoted by Ruth Bell
Graham
Prodigals and Those Who Love Them
1991
Focus on the Family
Publishing
Page 85-94.
In the midst of a
generation screaming for answers
Christians are stuttering.
Howard Hendricks.
T.H. Huxley
a well-known
agnostic
was with a group of men at a weekend house party. On Sunday morning
while most of them were preparing to go to church
he approached a man known
for his Christian character and said
"Suppose you stay at home and tell
my why you are a Christian." The man
knowing he couldn't match wits with
Huxley
hesitated. But the agnostic said gently
"I don't want to argue
with you. I just want you to tell me simply what this Christ means to
you." The man did
and when he finished
there were tears in Huxley's eyes
as he said
"I would give my right hand if only I could believe
that!"
Our Daily Bread
January 24
1993.
I stood on a grassy sward
and at my feet a precipice broke sheer down into infinite space. I looked
but
saw no bottom; only cloud shapes
black and furiously coiled
and great
shadow-shrouded hollows
and unfathomable depths. Back I drew
dizzy at the
depth.
Then I saw forms of people
moving single file along the grass. They were making for the edge. There was a
woman with a baby in her arms and another little child holding on to her dress.
She was on the very verge. Then I saw that she was blind. She lifted her foot
for the next step and it trod air. She was over
and the children over with
her. Oh
the cry that I heard. Then I saw more streams of people flowing from all
quarters. All were blind
stone blind; all made straight for the precipice
edge. There were shrieks as they suddenly knew themselves falling
and a
tossing up of helpless arms
catching
clutching at empty air. But some went
over quietly
and fell without a sound.
Then I wondered
with a
wonder that was simple agony
why no one stopped them at the edge. I could not.
I was glued to the ground
and I could not call; though I strained and tried
only a whisper would come. Then I saw that along the edge there were
sentries set at intervals. But the intervals were far too great; there were
wide
unguarded gaps between. And over these gaps the people fell in their
blindness
quite unwarned; and the green grass seemed blood-red to me
and the
gulf yawned like the mouth of hell.
Then I saw
like a little
picture of peace
a group of people under some trees
with their backs turned
towards the gulf. They were making daisy chains. Sometimes when a piercing
shriek cut the quiet air and reached them it disturbed them and they thought it
a rather vulgar noise. And if one of their number started up and wanted to go
and do something to help
then all the others would pull that one down.
"Why should you get so excited about it? You must wait for a definite call
to go! You haven't finished your daisy chains yet. It would be really
selfish
" they said
"to leave us to finish the work alone."
There was another group.
It was made up of people whose great desire was to get more sentries out; but
they found that very few wanted to go and sometimes there were no sentries set
for miles and miles of the edge.
Once a girl stood alone in
her place
waving the people back; buther mother and other relations called
and reminded her that her furlough was due; she must not break the rules. And
being tired and needing a change
she had to go and rest for awhile
but no one
was sent to guard her gap and over and over the people fell
like a waterfall
of souls.
Once a child caught at a
tuft of grass that grew at the very brink of the gulf; it clung convulsively
and it called -- but nobody seemed to hear. Then the roots of the grass gave
way and with a cry
the child went over
its two little hands still holding
tight to the torn-off bunch of grass. And the girl who longed to be back in her
gap thought she heard the little one cry
and she sprang up and wanted to go;
at which they reproved her
reminding her that no one is necessary anywhere;
the gap would be well taken care of
they knew. And then they sang a
hymn. Then through the hymn came another sound like the pain of a million
broken hearts wrung out in one full drop
one sob. And a horror of great
darkness was upon me
for I knew what it was --the Cry of the Blood.
Then thundered a Voice
the Voice of the Lord. "And He said
What hast thou done? The voice of thy
brothers' blood crieth unto Me from the ground."
The tom-toms still beat
heavily
the darkness still shuddered and shivered about me; I heard the yells
of the devil-dancers and the weird wild shriek of the devil-possessed just
outside the gate. What does it matter
after all? It has gone on for years; it
will go on for years. Why make such a fuss about it?
God forgive us! God arouse
us! Shame us out of our callousness! Shame us out of our sin!
Source Unknown.
A young man enlisted
and
was sent to his regiment. The first night he was in the barracks with about
fifteen other young men
who passed the time playing cards and gambling. Before
retiring
he fell on his knees and prayed
and they began to curse him and jeer
at him and throw boots at him. So it went on the next night and the next
and
finally the young man went and told the chaplain what had taken place
and
asked what he should do.
"Well
" said the
chaplain
"you are not at home now
and the other men have just as much
right to the barracks as you have. It makes them mad to hear you pray
and the
Lord will hear you just as well if you say your prayers in bed and don't
provoke them."
For weeks after the
chaplain did not see the young man again
but one day he met him
and asked
-- "By the way
did you take my advice?"
"I did
for two or
three nights."
"How did it
work?"
"Well
" said the
young man
"I felt like a whipped hound and the third night I got out of
bed
knelt down and prayed."
"Well
" asked
the chaplain
"How did that work?"
The young soldier
answered: "We have a prayer meeting there now every night
and three have
been converted
and we are praying for the rest."
Oh
friends
I am so tired
of weak Christianity. Let us be out and out for Christ; let us give no
uncertain sound. If the world wants to call us fools
let them to it. It is
only a little while; the crowning day is coming. Thank God for the privilege we
have of confessing Christ.
Moody's Anecdotes
Page 73-74.
I remember hearing of a
man at sea who was very sea-sick. If there is a time when a man feels that he
cannot do any work for the Lord it is then -- in my opinion. While this man was
sick he heard that a man had fallen overboard. He was wondering if he could do
anything to help to save him. He laid hold of a light
and held it up on the
port-hole.
The drowning man was
saved. When this man got over his attack of sickness he was up on deck one day
and was talking to the man who was rescued. The saved man gave this testimony.
He said he had gone down the second time
and was just going down again for the
last time
when he put out his hand. Just then
he said
some one held a light
at the port-hole
and the light fell on his hand. A man caught him by the hand
and pulled him into the lifeboat.
It seemed a small thing to
do to hold up the light; yet it saved the man's life. If you cannot do some
great thing you can hold the light for some poor
perishing drunkard
who may
be won to Christ and delivered from destruction. Let us take the torch of
salvation and go into these dark homes
and hold up Christ to the people as the
Savior of the world.
Moody's Anecdotes
Page 44.
A model from the world of
real estate becomes instructive at this point. A firm in Salem
Oregon
assigns
500 families to each agent. Agents are expected to contact each assigned family
once per month for a year. The contact may be personal
a telephone call
or a
letter. Research indicates that it takes at least six contacts for people to
remember who the agent is and the firm represented. During this time of
"building relationships
" agents are encouraged not to go in the
house (good psychology
everyone else ins trying to get their foot in the
door). Furthermore
they are encouraged not to ask for a listing during this
"get acquainted" time. Obviously
there would be exceptions to these
restrictions
but they do illustrate an understanding of what it takes to
create a favorable climate for selling real estate. After the initial year of
regular contacts
the agent continues to communicate with the assigned families
on a scheduled
systematic basis. Research reveals that if this pattern is
followed consistently for one-year-and-a-half
the agent will secure 80% of the
listings.
What does the real estate
firm know that we either do not know or overlook? First
people do not like to
be confronted by strangers seeking entrance into their homes. In fact
in many
communities this is socially unacceptable. The sales person or any other
unknown professional who arrives at the door is automatically confronted with a
high sales resistance. If the door is opened
it is done with a determination
not to be "taken in" by sales talk. The salesperson professionally
represents the product
and consequently the sales pitch is discounted at least
50 percent. However
if a friend comes over and shares a glowing personal
testimony concerning the value of the agent's product
the reaction is apt to
be markedly different. A satisfied customer makes the most effective
salesperson. Second
people are more inclined to do business with acquaintances
than strangers. Third
it takes time and effort to build a healthy
decision-making climate. Fourth
there is no substitute for time. Often it is
necessary to "make haste slowly."
Joe Aldrich
Friendship
Evangelism
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
A true heart of compassion
will let those on the way to destruction know they can escape
but the only
escape is through Jesus Christ. We need to tell people they're in trouble with
God and that God alone has provided a way to escape. But How? Do we all
have to share the same way? No
the unbelieving world is made up of a variety
of people: young
old
rich
poor
educated
uneducated
urban
rural
with
different race
personalities
values
politics
and religious backgrounds.
It's going to take more than one style of evangelism to reach such a diverse
population!
So what is your style?
Confrontational? (Acts 2)
Repent and be baptized
save yourselves from this corrupt generation.
Intellectual? (Acts 17)
Paul debated with the philosophers on Mars Hill to convince them.
Testimonial? (John 9) One
thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!
Relational? (Mark 5) Go
home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.
Invitational? (John 4) The
Samaritan woman at the well begged the people of the city to come and hear
Jesus for themselves.
Serving? (Acts 9) Dorcas
impacted her city by doing deeds of kindness. Don't ever think you're a second
class Christian because you don't proclaim Christ like Peter or Paul. Discover
your own method. Then get out of your chair and use it
for the Glory of God.
Live by faith
not fear!!!
Source Unknown.
If to be a Christian is
worthwhile
then the most ordinary interest in those with whom we come in
contact would prompt us to speak to them of Christ.
If the New Testament be
true--and we know that it is--who has given us the right to place the
responsibility for soul-winning on other shoulders than our own?
If they who reject Christ
are in danger
is it not strange that we
who are so sympathetic when the
difficulties are physical or temporal
should apparently be so devoid of
interest as to allow our friends and neighbors and kindred to come into our
lives and pass out again without a word of invitation to accept Christ
to say
nothing of sounding a note of warning because of their peril?
If today is the day of
salvation
if tomorrow may never come and if life is equally uncertain
how can
we eat
drink and be merry when those who live with us
work with us
walk with
us and love us are unprepared for eternity because they are unprepared for
time?
If Jesus called his
disciples to be fishers of men
who gave us the right to be satisfied with
making fishing tackle or pointing the way to the fishing banks instead of going
ourselves to cast out the net until it be filled?
If Jesus himself went
seeking the lost
if Paul the Apostle was in agony because his kinsmen
according to the flesh
knew not Christ
why should we not consider it
worthwhile to go out after the lost until they are found?
If I am to stand at the
judgment seat of Christ to render an account for the deeds done in the Body
what shall I say to him if my children are missing
if my friends are not saved
or if my employer or employee should miss the way because I have been
faithless?
If I wish to be approved
at the last
then let me remember that no intellectual superiority
no
eloquence in preaching
no absorption in business
no shrinking temperament or
no spirit of timidity can take the place of or be an excuse for my not making
an honest
sincere
prayerful effort to win others to Christ.
J. Wilbur Chapman
If.
When he was the pastor of
the Methodist church in Scarborough
William Sangster had an eccentric member
who tried to be a zealous Christian. Unfortunately
the man was mentally
deficient and usually did the wrong thing. While working as a barber the man
lathered up a customer for a shave
came at him with the poised razor
and
asked
"Are you prepared to meet your God?" The frightened man
fled with the lather on his face!
W. Wiersbe
Wycliffe
Handbook of Preaching & Preachers
p. 215.
"Millions of surveys
which we have helped to take around the world indicate that approximately 98
percent of the Christians do not regularly introduce others to the
Savior."
Bill Bright
president of
Campus Crusade for Christ
quoted in Why Christians Sin
J.K. Johnston
Discovery House
1992
p. 140.
A 1980 Gallup poll
indicated that out of all evangelical
American believers
"only two
percent had introduced another person to Christ."
J.K. Johnston
Why
Christians Sin
Discovery House
1992
p. 140.
Christ met unbelievers
where they were. He realized what many Christians today still don't seem to
understand. Cultivators have to get out in the field. According to one count
the gospels record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the
Temple
four in the synagogues and 122 were out with the people in the
mainstream of life.
J.K. Johnston
Why
Christians Sin
Discovery House
1992
p. 142.
A man once testified in
one of D.L. Moody's meetings that he had lived "on the Mount of
Transfiguration" for five years. "How many souls did you lead to
Christ last year?" Moody bluntly asked him. "Well
" the man
hesitated
"I don't know." "Have you saved any?" Moody
persisted. "I don't know that I have
" the man admitted.
"Well
" said Moody
"we don't want that kind of mountaintop
experience. When a man gets up so high that he cannot reach down and save poor
sinners
there is something wrong."
W. Wiersbe
The
Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers
p. 202.
The secret to neutralizing
fear is to embrace the threatened disaster and count it as not too high a price
to pay for obedience to Christ. This attitude of faith may not totally
eliminate the uneasiness and apprehension. It will
however
allow you to go
ahead and act in obedience to Christ. The problem of fear is not the fear
itself
but the fact that we allow it to immobilize us. Being afraid is no sin.
Shrinking back fearfully from obedience is sin...fear can stop you in your
tracks as a Christian...but it doesn't have to. You can trust God...(and) move
ahead in obedience because you understand fear and know how to deal with
it.
Wayne McDill
Making
Friends for Christ
p. 103.
When I am conscious of the
fear of failure holding me back
I go through a kind of personal
checklist:
1. Does this fear come
basically from pride
a fear that I will not live up to my own expectations or
to those of others?
2. Do I remember that God
has called me first to faithfulness
then to efficiency?
3. Do I trust that the
Holy Spirit is working before me
with me
and through me?
4. Do I remember that I am
called to be neither more nor less successful than Jesus Christ was?
5. Do I remember that God
does his greatest work when I seem to be weakest? Isn't that
after all
the
mystery of the cross?
Leighton Ford
Good
News is for Sharing
p. 65.
What makes people hesitate
to share their faith? Here are some of the fears that have been mentioned to
me: "I am afraid I might do more harm than good." "I don't know
what to say." "I may not be able to give snappy answers to tricky
questions." "I may seem bigoted." "I may invade someone's
privacy." "I am afraid I might fail." "I am afraid I might
be a hypocrite." Perhaps the most common fear
however
is that of being
rejected. A survey was given to those attending training sessions for the
Billy Graham crusade in Detroit. One question asked
"What is your
greatest hindrance in witnessing?" 9% said they were too busy to remember
to do it. 28% felt the lack of real information to share. None said they didn't
really care. 12% said their own lives were not speaking as they should. But by
far the largest group were the 51% whose biggest problem was the fear of how
the other person would react!
Leighton Ford
Motivations
of the Early Church for Witness
Good News is for Sharing
P. 25-7.
For God so loved the
world
not just a
few
The wise and great
the noble and the true
Or those of favored class or rank or
hue.
God loved the world. Do you?
Leighton Ford
Good
News is for Sharing
p. 15.
The report indicates a
great deal of ambivalence among Americans with regard to their beliefs. For
instance
while 62 percent of the respondents said they have made a personal
commitment to Jesus Christ
65 percent said the term "born again"
does not apply to them; fewer than 50 percent strongly agreed that the Bible is
the written word of God and is totally accurate in all it teaches.
The Barna Report: What
Americans Believe
1991
quoted in Christianity Today
September 16
1991.
According to the book Life
of Francis d'Assisi
Francis once invited a young monk to join him on a trip to
town to preach. Honored to be given the invitation
the monk readily accepted.
All day long he and Francis walked through the streets
byways
and alleys
and
even into the suburbs. They rubbed shoulders with hundreds of people. At day's
end
the two headed back home. Not even once had Francis addressed a
crowd
nor had he talked to anyone about the gospel. Greatly disappointed
his
young companion said
"I thought we were going into town to
preach."
Francis responded
"My son
we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We
were seen by many and our behavior was closely watched. It is of no use to walk
anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk!
Daily Bread
December 15
1991.
1)Care: show concern for
the person
and concern for your life before him.
2)Dare: it takes courage
to witness--courage if the person is a stranger to you
and even more if the
person is a close friend or relative.
3)Share: If you want to
make a lasting impression
share yourself with the person. Get involved in his
interests
get your shoulder under his burden
be genuinely glad when he has a
success.
4)Prayer: Don't discount
the effectiveness of prayer in the preparation of people's hearts for the Good
News.
Adapted from S. Briscoe
Getting
Into God
p. 92.
I read about a court case
that was lost because of the silence of an attorney. The distinguished lawyer
Samuel Hoar (1778-1856) was representing the defendant. When it was time to
present his case
he told the jurors that the facts favoring his client were so
evident that he would not insult their intelligence by arguing them. The jury
retired to deliberate and returned in a few minutes with a verdict of guilty.
Samuel Hoar was astonished!
"How
" he asked
"could you have reached such a verdict?"
The foreman replied
"We all agreed that if anything could be said for a case
you would say
it. But since you didn't present any evidence
we decided to rule against
you." Silence had lost the case.
How often the opportunity
to speak a word of testimony for Christ is lost because we remain silent. Those
who need to hear the gospel may conclude that salvation is not important enough
to talk about.
Source Unknown.
The Gospels of Matthew
Mark
Luke
and
John
Are read by more than a
few
But the one that is most read and commented
on
Is the gospel according to
you.
You are writing a gospel
a chapter each
day
By the things that you do and the words that you
say
Men read what you write
whether faithless or
true
Say
what is the gospel according to
you?
Do men read His truth and His love in your
life
Or has yours been too full of malice and
strife?
Does your life speak of evil
or does it ring
true?
Say
what is the gospel according to you?
Arthur McPhee.
Feeling a concern for
witnessing can mean that you will have to stand up and be counted
and this can
bring some degree of abuse. Years ago I was praying with one of my
children at bedtime
and I asked him if he had any problems we should pray
about. He couldn't think of any
even though I could think of a number!
Rather unwisely
I pressed the point and asked
"Don't you have any
problems at school?" "No
" he replied quite firmly. "Don't
the kids give you a hard time because you're a Christian?" Again the
answer was "No." Thinking back to my own traumatic school days
I
said
"But kids always give you a hard time if you let them know you're a
Christian." His reply was frank beyond belief: "All the more reason
you don't let them know!" And quite happily he turned over to sleep.
With the refreshing candor
of the very young
he had put into words the practical reasons why many Christians
don't witness. They don't want to take the consequences.
S. Briscoe
Getting
Into God
p. 88.
Why people don't witness:
1. 90% have failed in
witnessing attempts in the past
2. The are biblically
illiterate
3. They leave it to the
professionals
4. We shouldn't impose our
faith on others
Ron Hutchcraft
Wake Up
Calls
Moody
1990
p.30.
You lived next door to me
for
years
We shared our dreams
our joys
and
tears.
A friend to me you were
indeed...
A friend who helped me when in
need.
My faith in you was strong and
sure
We had such trust as should
endure.
No spats between us ever rose;
Our friends were like...and so our
foes.
What sadness then
my friend
to find
That after all you weren't so kind.
The day my life on earth did
end
I found you weren't a faithful
friend.
For all those years we spent on
earth
You never talked of second
birth.
You never spoke of my lost soul
And of the Messiah Who'd make me
whole.
I plead today from Hell's cruel
fire
And tell you now my last
desire.
You cannot do a thing for
me...
No words today my bonds will
free.
But do not err
my friend
again;
Do all you can for souls of
men.
Plead with them now quite
earnestly
Lest they be cast in Hell with me.
Source Unknown.
Motivation in witnessing
Gen. William Booth
founder of the Salvation Army
could never be accused of mincing words or doing
things half-heartedly. He believed if he could hold each of his young Salvation
Army officers over hell for a few minutes
he would never have any trouble
keeping them motivated about being witnesses to Christ.
S. Briscoe
Getting
Into God
p. 87.
Definition of a witness
A witness is someone who
by explanation and demonstration gives audible and visible evidence of what he
has seen and heard without being deterred by the consequences of his
action.
S. Briscoe
Getting
Into God
p. 76.
One proud
surly
lordly
word
one needless contention
one covetous action may cut the throat of many a
sermon
and blast the fruit of all that you have been doing.
Richard Baxter in Gildas
Salvanus: The Reformed Pastor.
I care not where I go or
how I live or what I endure so that I may save souls. When I sleep
I dream of
them; when I awake
they are first in my thoughts.
David Brainerd.
Britain's King George V
was to give the opening address at a special disarmament conference
with the
speech relayed by radio to the U.S. As the broadcast was about to begin
a
cable broke in the New York radio station
and more than a million listeners
were left without sound. A junior mechanic in the station
Harold Vivien
solved the problem by picking up both ends of the cable and allowing 250 volts
of electricity to pass through him. He was the living link that allowed
the king's message to get through.
Warren Wiersbe
Prokope
July-August
1988
p. 3.
Every year in Alaska
a
1000-mile dogsled race
run for prize money and prestige
commemorates an
original "race" run to save lives. Back in January of 1926
six-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria
signaling the
possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome. When the boy passed away
a day later
Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an
experimental but effective anti-diphtheria serum. But it wasn't long before Dr.
Welch's supply ran out
and the nearest serum was in Nenana
Alaska--1000 miles
of frozen wilderness away. Amazingly
a group of trappers and prospectors
volunteered to cover the distance with their dog teams!
Operating in relays from
trading post to trapping station and beyond
one sled started out from Nome
while another
carrying the serum
started from Nenana. Oblivious to frostbite
fatigue
and exhaustion
the teamsters mushed relentlessly until
after 144
hours in minus 50-degree winds
the serum was delivered to Nome. As a result
only one other life was lost to the potential epidemic. Their sacrifice had
given an entire town the gift of life.
Source Unknown.
A Christian baroness
living in the highlands of Nairobi
Kenya
told of a young national who was
employed as her houseboy. After three months he asked the baroness to give him
a letter of reference to a friendly sheik some miles away. The baroness
not
wishing the houseboy to leave just when he had learned the routine of the
household
offered to increase his pay. The lad replied that he was not leaving
for higher pay. Rather
he had decided he would become either a Christian or a
Moslem. This was why he had come to work for the baroness for three months. He
had wished to see how Christians acted. Now he wanted to work for three months
for the sheik to observe the ways of the Moslems. Then he would decide which
way of life he would follow. The baroness was stunned as she recalled her many
blemishes in her dealings with the houseboy. She could only exclaim
"Why
didn't you tell me at the beginning!"
Leslie B. Flynn
Dare
to Care Like Jesus.
As D.L. Moody walked down
a Chicago street one day
he saw a man leaning against a lamppost. The
evangelist gently put his hand on the man's shoulder and asked him if he was a
Christian. The fellow raised his fists and angrily exclaimed
"Mind your
own business!"
"I'm sorry if I've
offended you
" said Moody
"but to be very frank
that IS my
business!" Even if people reject the gospel
we still must love them.
Source Unknown.
A good example of this was
reported by Ralph Neighbour
pastor of Houston's West Memorial Baptist Church
(in DEATH AND THE CARING COMMUNITY
by Larry Richards and Paul Johnson):
Jack had been president of
a large corporation
and when he got cancer
they ruthlessly dumped him. He
went through his insurance
used his life savings
and had practically nothing
left.
I visited him with one of
my deacons
who said
"Jack
you speak so openly about the brief life you
have left. I wonder if you've prepared for your life after death?"
Jack stood up
livid with
rage. "You *** *** *** *** Christians. All you ever think about is what's
going to happen to me after I die. If your God is so great
why doesn't He do
something about the real problems of life?" He went on to tell us he was
leaving his wife penniless and his daughter without money for college. The he
ordered us out.
Later my deacon insisted
we go back. We did. "Jack
I know I offended you
" he said. "I
humbly apologize. But I want you to know I've been working since then. Your
first problem is where your family will live after you die. A realtor in our
church has agreed to sell your house and give your wife his commission.
"I guarantee you that
if you'll permit us
some other men and I will make
the house payments until it's sold. "Then
I've contacted the owner of an
apartment house down the street. He's offered your wife a three-bedroom
apartment plus free utilities and an $850-a-month salary in return for her
collecting rents and supervising plumbing and electrical repairs. The income
from your house should pay for your daughter's college. I just want you to know
your family will be cared for."
Jack cried like a baby. He
died shortly thereafter
so wrapped in pain he never accepted Christ. But he
experienced God's love even while rejecting Him. And his widow
touched by the
caring Christians
responded to the gospel message.
Larry Richards and Paul
Johnson
Death and the Caring Community.
Sometimes telling a story
has as much effect on the teller as it does the listeners. Martin Buber
the
Jewish philosopher
recalls:
"My grandfather was
lame. Once they asked him to tell a story about his teacher
and he related how
his master used to hop and dance while he prayed. My grandfather rose as he
spoke and was so swept away by his story that he himself began to hop and dance
to show how the master had done. From that hour he was cured of his
lameness."
When we tell the story of
our Master
we too experience His power.
Van Campbell.
D.L. Moody and once spoke
with a woman who didn't like his method of evangelism. "I don't really
like mine all that much either. What's yours?" She replied that she didn't
have one. Moody said
"Then I like mine better than yours."
Timothy K. Jones.
During the reign of Oliver
Cromwell
there was a shortage of currency in the British Empire.
Representatives carefully searched the nation in hopes of finding silver to
meet the emergency. After one month
the committee returned with its report.
"We have searched the Empire in vain seeking to find silver. To our
dismay
we found none anywhere except in the cathedrals where the statues of
the saints are made of choice silver."
To this
Oliver Cromwell
eloquently answered
"Let's melt down the saints and put them into
circulation."
G. Sweeting
How to
Witness Successfully.
A good witness isn't like
a salesman
emphasis is on a person rather than a product. A good witness is
like a signpost. It doesn't matter whether it is old
young
pretty
ugly; it
has to point the right direction and be able to be understood. We are witnesses
to Christ
we point to him.
John White
The Fight.
Many years ago some men
were panning for gold in Montana
and one of them found an unusual stone.
Breaking it open
he was excited to see that it contained gold. Working
eagerly
the men soon discovered an abundance of the precious metal. Happily
they began shouting with delight
"We've found it! We've found gold! We're
rich!" They had to interrupt their celebrating
though
to go into a
nearby town and stock up on supplies. Before they left camp
the men agreed not
to tell a soul about their find. Indeed
no one breathed a word about it to
anyone while they were in town. Much to their dismay
however
when they were
about to return
hundreds of men were prepared to follow them. When they asked
the crowd to tell who "squealed
" the reply came
"No one had
to. Your faces showed it!"
Source Unknown.
Nineteen out of every
twenty who become Christians do so before they reach the age of 24.
After 25
only one in
10
000
After 35
only one in 40
000
After 45
only one in 200
000
After 55
only one in
300
000
After 65
only one in
500
000
After 74
only one in 700
000.
Leadership
V. 1
p.55.
Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer
evangelist and founder of Dallas Theological Seminary
told a simple story from
his life. It seems that one day Dr. Chafer was walking along the street when he
encountered a flagman sitting in a little house at a railroad crossing. He
noticed that the man was reading a large family Bible. Though a sign on the
door said
"No Admittance
"
Dr. Chafer went boldly
through the door to greet the man. In reply to a question from Dr. Chafer
the
man said that he read the Bible a lot. So Chafer asked a second question--one
most people are too timid to ask these days--"Are you saved?"
The answer of the flagman
carries the sentiments of many: "I never could be good enough to be
saved."
Dr. Chafer countered
"Friend
if God would make an exception of your case
and give you
salvation outright as a gift
would you receive it?"
"Mister
"
the flagman replied
"I don't know what brand of fool you think I am that
I wouldn't take a gift like that!"
Chafer asked the flagman
to read John 10:28. It took the man awhile to find the passage
but then he
read
"I give them eternal life
and they shall never perish..." Then
Chafer directed him to Romans 6:23
where he read
"the wages of sin is
death
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The flagman was amazed. He
said to Dr. Chafer
"Stranger
I don't know who you are
but you've done
more for me today than any other man." Chafer crisply replied
"What
have I done for you? I've got you in a trap. You told me that if it was a gift
you'd accept it. Now
what are you going to do about that?" "I will
accept it right now
" the flagman responded. And he did. Dr. Chafer prayed
with him and left. That is the simplicity of the gospel. The gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
Today in the Word
May
1990.
In preparing for this
book
I have talked to a lot of people
and the fear issue comes up front again
and again. What makes people hesitate to share their faith? Here are some of
the fears that have been mentioned to me:
- "I am afraid I
might do more harm than good."
- "I don't know what
to say."
- "I may not be able
to give snappy answers to tricky questions."
- "I may seem
bigoted."
- "I may invade
someone's privacy."
- "I am afraid I
might fail."
- "I am afraid I
might be a hypocrite."
Perhaps the most common
fear
however
is that of being rejected. A survey was given to those attending
training sessions for the Billy Graham crusade in Detroit. One question asked
"What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing?" Nine percent said
they were too busy to remember to do it. Twenty-eight percent felt the lack of
real information to share. None said they didn't really care. Twelve
percent said their own lives were not speaking as they should. But by far
the largest group were the 51 percent whose biggest problem was the fear of how
the other person would react! None of us likes to be rejected
ridiculed
or regarded as an oddball.
Lieghton Ford
Good
News is for Sharing
1977
David C. Cook Publishing Co.
Page 15.