A Tennessee pastor doesn’t believe in chance encounters. To him, every contact is an opportunity to share the Gospel. When he answers the phone, for example, and hears the person on the other end saying, “Sorry, I must have the wrong number, “ He responds: “Maybe not!”
Usually there is a pause on the line, followed by something like, “What do you mean?” That gives him an opening to initiate a conversation about the Gospel. He has led more than one person to faith in Christ that way.
Evangelist Billy Graham once answered the phone in his hotel room. The person on the other end asked for so-and-so, and Mr. Graham told him he had the wrong number. There was a pause, and the person said, “You sure sound a lot like Billy Graham.”
“This is Billy Graham,” replied the evangelist. During the ensuing conversation, the caller gave his life to Christ. There are opportunities all around us to witness for Christ, some in unexpected places. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone we witness to is going to like what we try to tell them.
Back in the 1700′s John Wesley was teaching other young men how to become preachers of the Gospel, and he would send them out to preach in churches as a “trial” of their ability to preach and be used by God. When they returned, he would ask them two questions, “Has anyone been converted?” and “Did anyone get mad?” If the answer was “No,” he would tell them he did not think God had really called them to preach the gospel, and would send them about their way. When the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin, they are either converted or they don’t like it and get mad.
Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
D. L. Moody, founder of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, used to tell the story of a man at sea who was very sea-sick. While this man was sick he heard that another man had fallen overboard. The sick man was wondering if he could do anything to help to save him. He found a lantern, and held it up against the port-hole in the room where he was. The drowning man was saved.
When the sick man got over his attack of sickness he was up on deck one day, and was talking to the man who was rescued. The rescued 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 shone on his hand sticking out of the water. A man saw the light on his hand, caught him 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 person, who may be won to Christ and delivered from destruction. Let us take the torch of salvation and go into this dark world, and hold up Christ to the people as the Savior of the world.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
We know the source of LIGHT – Jesus Christ. Let’s share it with those who are blindly groping in the darkness, looking for peace, joy, and happiness at this Christmas season. They may not be happy when we shine the LIGHT on them, but that’s not what we need to worry about. We just need to throw them the Life Preserver….if they choose to reject it, that’s between them and God. Remember – GOD is on our side, and NOTHING bad can befall us outside of His will. Take courage in knowing that the Gospel we share may save a person from eternity without God.
Be Bold, Be Brave, Be The Light people need to See!!