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Scripture Reading: John 15:8, 16
In this chapter we will fellowship more concerning the gospel of Christ. This kind of fellowship should be of help to us in learning how to preach the gospel to others. In visiting with people, we should be normal, living, and lovely to them. The ones we visit should be inspired and moved by our speaking. Some preach the gospel as though they were reading a newspaper clipping to someone. The result of this kind of preaching is that there is no impact.
Others lose the listener by providing too much explanation in their preaching. This creates the opportunity for side issues to come in. If we are asked a question, we should restrict our answer to the point at hand, thus leaving no side issue to be raised by the person. Do not think that it is better to have a large amount of speaking. This may cause the impact to be lost. It is better to speak a few words that are directly to the point to bring the person to the proper destination. In this way we are like ushers who direct people to their seats in an auditorium. We must learn to purify our speaking and avoid speaking according to our natural custom.
My main concern is that many of the saints go out diligently and faithfully to talk to people, but most of the speaking is doctrinal in nature. We all need training in order to overcome our doctrinal nature. The person we are visiting may ask us to explain to him who God is. We must learn not to answer such a question with doctrines but with some kind of practical illustration. We may tell him that in the whole universe there must be a sovereign One. God is this sovereign One. We have to learn to always hit the point and avoid side issues.
I have practiced gospel preaching for many years. I have discovered that many sinners like to ask a lot of questions, which lead into side issues, thus taking you away from the main point. It is best not to follow their questions. You must consider the best way to answer so that the side issues are kept closed. This requires learning. If you are presented with a question that you cannot answer so well right away, you should still do your best to give an answer. However, you should learn not to answer too quickly.
To one who asks who God is, you may say, “This is the biggest question in the universe. The philosophers and religious leaders have always considered this problem. One thing that is clear to all of them is that there must be someone in the universe who is sovereign.” This leads the person to a direct point. Then point out that this sovereign One is called God. He is not Buddha. He is not an idol. He is just God. God is unique. God is one and only one. He is the One who created the entire universe, including man. At this time you can direct him to the point that you want to reach. This will keep him from going astray. You have to be trained, but you also have to consider the questions. Ask yourself how to answer who God is. This kind of thinking and considering will cause you to learn some secrets.
Theology alone does not work. When you talk to people, the greatest impact will be from practical speaking. If you are not practical in your speaking, you will create more questions in the ones you contact. You must answer in a very practical way. This is why you have to learn. Do not just learn in a doctrinal way in order to go out to give lectures to people. Lectures have no impact. Just talk in a practical way. Of course, your talk must be based upon biblical knowledge. But the way you use your knowledge of the Bible is the key. You must learn to convert your doctrinal talking into practical talking. Do not talk like a Bible teacher or theologian but in a practical way, touching people’s daily life.
You have to consider the use of The Mystery of Human Life. Is it practical in your gospel situation? You must study its use. Opening with The Mystery of Human Life might be quite good for certain persons, but I do not believe that it is appropriate for everyone. Thus, you have to consider how to use it for the greatest profit. Suppose you feel to use The Mystery of Human Life. Still you have to study to determine how to use it. It may be best to speak in this way: “Sir, here is a book in my hand. It talks about something marvelous that I would like to share with you. What it talks about is the mystery of our human life.” This kind of application is very understandable.
As I have told you before, you should not consider gospel preaching an easy task. Rather, it is like a difficult scientific course. The classroom training helps only to open the door of this wide field. From there, you must enter through the door and begin to consider, day and night, how to carry out your scientific research. To preach theology or biblical knowledge is not adequate. The only way that works is to make the message practical. This is the secret you all must learn.
You have to consider how to make all the biblical points practical. I have used marriage life as an example in quite a few of my messages. This makes the message more practical.
If you are going to reach certain persons, first of all, you must know their real situation. If you are going to help those in high school or junior high, you must learn their real life situation. Second, you have to consider what portion of the holy Word can be applied to that particular situation. You must have some verses or portions in the Bible as the base of your speaking. The basic thoughts in the Bible are the top ones. No logic can exceed the logic of the Bible. There is no comparison. When your preaching is based on the Bible, your preaching will become powerful, yet it must be practical. You have to speak on the practical situation but with some portions or some verses from the Bible. Therefore, the third point is to learn to speak in a way that is always practical. If you take care of these three points, you will be able to learn a lot.
It is hard to say whether it is easier to talk to a person whom you know or to a person whom you do not know. We may have relatives whom we have known from our youth. Because we know them so well, we may not know how to talk to them. Our knowledge of them may hinder our ability to talk with them. Sometimes it is rather hard for us to preach the gospel to our relatives. It may be better to ask some sisters or brothers who do not know our relatives to speak to them. There may be more impact in their speaking.
We have much to learn in order to preach the gospel effectively. If we are going to speak to someone whom we have known for several years, we can exercise to speak to him as though we do not know him at all. Then we can speak something new, fresh, and particular to him. When we know a person so well, sometimes it is hard to know the best subject to use. If the person is proud, it is best not to talk about being proud. It may be better to talk about the Lord Jesus or even about the danger of the lake of fire. That might have more impact. If we know the person so well, and he realizes that he is a proud person, he may not want us to bring up such a subject. A strong reason that we are not always effective in preaching the gospel to our relatives is that we know them so well.
We all have to pick up an attitude, spirit, and atmosphere of learning. Suppose you come to my home, and I welcome you and invite you to come in and be seated. Now, how would you start the conversation? To me, this is the most difficult point. The first few sentences are the most crucial. To know how to begin, you have to pray, “Lord, what would I say?” You cannot simply go to all the people whom you visit and tell them that you would like to speak with them about the mystery of human life. This is too common.
Sometimes you have to begin in a very gentle, normal way. Your speaking should give the impression that you are a normal person. This kind of impression will always be welcomed by people and will also invite people’s openness to you. They will be happy to talk to you. You may speak in this way: “I am a Christian. May I ask you, sir, are you a Christian?” This kind of opening is very broad and allows room to pursue almost any direction with him. When you open with, “Here is a book on the mystery of human life,” you have really limited yourself. From that point forward you will have to talk about the mystery of human life. After speaking for just a short time, you may find out that this person is not suited to such a subject, but it will be hard for you to change directions at that point. You will be limited. You may open in a general way by saying, “I am a Christian. Are you a Christian brother?” Then you can deal with the person in many directions.
I have definitely found out that the most difficult thing for Christians to carry out is the gospel preaching. If you are going to be successful in this matter, you must realize that this is the most difficult point. It is not so easy to be successful in gospel preaching. I do not expect that you would be a big success. I only expect that you would go out regularly, preferably once a week. Do not go too often. Do it regularly, continually, and persistently. If you do this your whole life, once a week, I am fully confident that you will gain two remaining fruit yearly.
To do this, you have to be willing to learn. Do not regard it lightly. Do not hold to a kind of understanding that everyone can preach the gospel. None of us can preach the gospel in a prevailing way unless we are trained. We have to be discipled in order to preach the gospel. If we will be discipled, we will surely gain fruit.
We should feel shameful that we have been barren for so many years. We have been barren because we have not had the spirit to learn to be trained, to be discipled. My burden is to stir up your heart and your spirit so that you can see that this is a big problem. After the Lord comes back, it will be hard for us to face Him if we have not borne any fruit. I hope that you would be stirred up to pick up the burden for this in a normal way.
When people reach their twenties, it is normal for them to get married. Later, they will have children and rear them. This is the way ordained by God for man’s multiplication. In this way of propagation, the whole earth is replenished by man. The divine life is propagated in the same principle.
We should not expect a big revival. History has already proven that such revivals do not work. What is needed is a practical preaching of the gospel. All of us who love the Lord’s interest need to learn how to practice such preaching. Then we can bear a year-round burden of preaching the gospel, going out once a week. If we will get ourselves prepared, we will be successful. But for us to go to do this, much learning is needed. I hope that this learning can be established in the Lord’s recovery and that such a gospel custom can gradually be built up.
This is similar to the way a language is picked up by a race of people. Eventually, a foundation with a certain custom becomes established. Those who are born in an American family speak American English spontaneously because the speaking of American English has been laid as a foundation and as a custom in American society. When the immigrants first came to this country, it was very hard for them to learn English. But after two centuries of their living in America, American English has penetrated nearly every family. I expect that a foundation and a custom of preaching the gospel will be built up in the Lord’s recovery. When such a custom has been built up, it will be easy for all the brothers and sisters in the Lord’s recovery to bear fruit. If we are to see a gospel-preaching custom built up among us, we must rise up and take this word and practice it week by week, trying our best to learn in every aspect. This will require our building up ourselves with the knowledge of the Bible and with the practical, proper speaking.
No one can assure you that in any gospel situation there will not be problems. You may ask a person, “Are you a Christian?” He may respond to you with, “I don’t like Christianity.” Many answer in this way. Then what should you do? You have to learn how to shift to another subject. You may tell someone that you are a Christian, and he may respond with, “That’s your problem.” Then you could say to him, “Yes, this is my problem. But, sir, we all have to realize our whole human life is a problem. Is there a human being without a problem? Having a wife is a problem. Not having a wife is also a problem. Having children is a problem. Not having children is also a problem. Having money is a problem. Not having money is also a problem. In our human life, everything is a problem.” This kind of practical talk should convince him. He may not admit it, but in his heart he will be convinced. Then from this point you can turn to the mystery of human life. “So, sir, human life is a mystery. We do not know where we came from, and we do not know where we will go. None of us knows how long we will live.” This kind of normal speaking will open a wide field for you to preach the gospel.
One brother related an experience of going with some other brothers to visit a man who had come from mainland China. The brothers first talked to him a little bit about the situation in China. This opened him up. Then they tried to preach the gospel to him. When they brought out the booklet The Mystery of Human Life, he became very defensive, saying that he was an atheist. He believed absolutely in communism, and he did not want them to say anything about religion and things of that nature. He said that they could talk about anything else but not that subject. Later, he mentioned that he was trying to learn certain aspects about computers. What he was trying to learn happened to be the field of one of the brothers. This caused him to open more and invite them to come again. But the brothers began to wonder if it was really worthwhile to go back to see him again since he told them that he was an atheist.
It is definitely worthwhile to go back to see such a person. His talk has opened a very wide gate for him to be gained. But when the brothers go to him the next time, they should talk only about computer hardware and software. Later, there will be a proper time for the gospel. It may be the third or fourth time. The brothers have to wait for a chance. If there is a little crack, the living water can get in. They can then take advantage of that little crack to speak the gospel.
We must go to practice preaching the gospel with much patience by having a spirit to learn, to be discipled. John 15 tells us that we were chosen to bear fruit (v. 16). Then we need to be discipled in order to bear more fruit (v. 8).
