It was well over a century ago that Dwight Moody shared the Savior's
story of salvation in East London.
An unbeliever, a fellow by the
name of Bradlaugh, heard of the crusade. Wishing to throw a monkey
wrench into the proceedings he encouraged all his atheist and agnostic
friends to attend the first meeting. It was their plan to disrupt things
by being vocal in their scoffings.
The unbelievers came in
droves. I have to confess things started out well enough for them. When
they were asked to sing a hymn, they laughed. They thought their success
would continue during and past the sermon. Their amusement began to
change when Moody told them of their sin, Christ's salvation, and the
forgiveness the Savior offers.
After the sermon, Moody asked all
who believed in Christ to say, "I do."
One man, Bradlaugh, the
leader of the atheists, quickly shouted, "I don't."
Moody
responded: "Men you have your champion. Now I ask those who need and
believe in Jesus to say 'I do.'" By the Holy Spirit's leading, 500 men,
having realized their previous beliefs had been wrong, terribly wrong,
sprang to their feet, shouting, "I do! I do!"
Now I share this
story not to encourage emotional altar calls in our congregations.
It is shared so we all may once again be reminded of the power of
the Holy Spirit when it is applied through the Word. Now if you're
thinking, well, I know that.
I can only reply I'm sure you do.
Even so, there are times when we hold back in our witnessing. The
reasons for that are numerous:
* We may think we don't have the
right words.
* We may believe what we say is going to be
rejected.
* We may believe we will cause some kind of offense and
upset to our listeners.
Now, I have to confess, it is quite
possible those undesirable things may happen. It certainly happened to
the apostles of Acts as they made their proclamation.
But it is
also possible the Holy Spirit may touch hearts and save souls through
your sharing of His Word. And if you're wondering how -- or if -- you
can determine how what you are going to say will be received, all I can
say is this: Paul couldn't; Peter couldn't; nobody can.
All any
of us can do is trust the power of God's Word and humankind's need for
the Savior, who rescues us from sin, death, devil -- and ourselves.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I believe. Help me in my sharing with others
who do not know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. May my witnesses, long
or short, brilliant or simple, be Your tool to touch sinners and support
those who already acknowledge the Christ. In His Name. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus
Lutheran Hour Ministries All rights reserved;
not to be duplicated without permission.
