Presenting The Gospel

Scripture

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

~1 Peter 3:15, NIV

Quote

Fanaticism frightens us. We all want to be approached gently and treated with respect.

~Calvin Miller {adapted}

I suppose that the most deficient aspect of my life is my inability to witness or share the gospel with others. I do want to be a fisher of men but I am running out of time. Bro. Calvin Inman taught me how to present the gospel and the first time I presented, a young man was saved. Honestly, Bro. Inman had already talked with him and the child was under conviction. It wouldn’t have mattered who shared with that child that day. His heart was open and all he needed to hear was the truth of the gospel. I was nervous that day and I still get nervous when I attempt to share the gospel. The best witnesses are relaxed. They don’t come at you like a buzz saw. Can you imagine Jesus talking with the woman at the well….“Aha sweet lady, I perceive that you have had multipleĀ marriage failures and your aren’t even married to the man you are shacked up now. Not only are you a divorcee, you have a huge self-image problem and some would even say that you are a slut. Get right with God before He strikes you dead and throws you into the pits of hell.”

The hell fire and brimstone approach frightens most people and infuriates others. When we threaten people and put them on the defensive, they cease to hear anything further we have to say. The gentle approach is much better and if we treat people with respect, they might decide to give us an audience. Here is the big problem as I perceive it: although everyone is longing for the Living Water, their thirst is not apparent to them. Thus is hard to get them into a seeking mode. The gospel is easy to present to a person who acknowledges his or her thirst. I have shared the gospel in the middle of the night but it was due to the person’s thirst, they did not want to wait until morning, and neither did I. It is not so simple to share with those who acknowledge no thirst. Remember this, a part of evangelism is planting the seed of the word. If I am able to share one verse, it gives me hope. I keep telling myself, “Your planting perfect seed and given time, it will produce a harvest.”

I confess my difficulty in sharing gospel in public without putting folks on the defensive but I find it an absolute joy to share it from the pulpit. I love to tell the story and it seems each time I tell it…it gets more wonderfully sweet but my fishing for men needs work, lots of work. No, I do not mind if you pray for me.

Extra

Another busy weekend and a wonderful LORD’s day. I do love Sundays. God is good. I saw Gregg several times over the week end and he is looking great, up to 170, PTL. They missed last night but it was due to a death in Brian’s family and they were in Sneed. We had a little covid outbreak on the other side of the county. I think we had three families at home with the covid yesterday. I was overwhelmed by the prayer list last night and went to bed troubled. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking: Why do I love Jesus? Why has He become the focus and passion of my life? Then I heard that still small voice, “Because I created you to do so.” A wave of peace flooded my soul. Of course I love Him for dying for me and for countless other reasons, but for some reason, I had never fully understood that I was created to love Him.

Have a big time today and a great week.

 

Extra/Extra

A man came up to Dwight L. Moody after one of Moody’s crusade meeting. The man professed to be a minister and he said to Moody, “I don’t like the way you give invitations.” Moody asks him, “Tell me how you give invitations.” The man said, “I don’t give one at all.” Moody responded, “I like my way better.” I said that to say this, I am not criticizing your way of sharing the gospel; if you are sharing the gospel, that is great. Neither am I trying to convince anyone that doing it the wrong way always leads to failure. I am living proof that God uses poor presentations to lead people to Christ. The biggest trophy in my cabinet was a little woman in New Orleans who got angry with me and was shewing me off her front porch. As I retreated, I presented the gospel against her will. I kept talking all the way to the car. It was the worse presentation I’ve ever heard and she was at church the next Sunday and gave her heart to Christ. God can hit a hard lick with a crooked stick.

Adrian Rogers tells one that is even better. He was preaching a revival in a mid-western town and the pastor was having outreach visitation every morning at 10:00 pm. The pastor would lead in prayer and then pass out assignments. A mentally challenged man was in the group but the pastor ignored him. Most would have gotten their feeling hurt but not him, he went right across the street to a furniture store, went it, interrupted the owner who was trying to make a sell and blurted out, “Mr. do you want to go to heaven.” The man was so annoyed and taken back that he said, “NO! I don’t want to go to heaven. I want you to leave me alone so I can talk to my customers.” The challenged man said, “Well, OK then, go to hell.” Then he turned and left the store. The furniture man was madder than a wet hen. His blood boils for hours as he thought about ways he could repay the Baptist church across the street for this rude intrusion. But even in his anger, it could not get the man’s words off his mind, “Well, OK then, go to hell.” When the revival service started that night, the furniture salesman came in and found a seat. You know the rest of the story.

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