Militant Evangelism! (24 page)

This is an excellent way to conclude a time of witnessing to someone, as it sums up visually what you have been saying. If they die in their sins, and face the Law, God will give them Eternal Justice and they will end up in Hell. But if they shelter in the cross, He will give them mercy, and everlasting life.

Leave It All

A number of years ago, a movie was made called, "The Fourth Wise Man." It was a fictitious story,
centered
at the time of Christ about a Magi who was hindered from travelling with the three wise men who took their gifts to Jesus. The man epitomized the spirit of the Law. When he and his servant came across a stricken stranger, they bathed his wounds, and when they had to leave, the Magi said to his servant, "Leave him with sufficient bread and water." When the servant protested,
"There is hardly any left,"
the Magi said, "Leave all of it then."

The act so spoke to my heart. The servant was saying that there was barely enough to keep
them
alive, and was no doubt hoping his master would say not to leave any, or at least to leave the minimum. But this man did to others as he would have them do to him, fulfilling the Law and the prophets. Such acts of kindness don't come naturally to us, but with the help of God, we can express our love for the lost in that spirit.

If you have the Spirit of Christ, you will have what the Scriptures call "the wisdom that is from above." This is how the Amplified Bible renders James 3:17:

"... the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). It is willing to yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned—free from doubts, wavering and insincerity."

Don't be concerned that you aren't "gifted" as a speaker when it comes to reaching the lost. The Bible says of Moses, he "was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words, and deeds" (Acts 7:22), yet God didn't use him to deliver Israel until 40 years later. Instead, it took all that time of tending sheep to produce a meekness of character different from that which he had in Egypt. The Bible says, "The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way" (Psalm 25:8-9). The wisdom that Moses gained from Egypt was not
a wisdom
from above. When he saw injustice, he took the law into his own hands and committed murder (Acts 7:24). God doesn't need the wisdom, or the mighty words and deeds of this world. He merely desires a pure, humble, peace-loving, compassionate soul to use as a mouth-piece for the Gospel. He wants us to be a lighthouse of His love. The moment we receive the Spirit of Christ, we receive the gift of those virtues. We don't need to tend sheep for 40 years, when we have the character of the Good Shepherd manifesting through us.

It is God's will for us to preach the word in season and out of season, so when I go out to witness and can't find someone to speak to, I sit down and pray that God will bring someone to me.

On one occasion I remember approaching three females, and as I got closer I noticed they were speaking in Spanish, so I sat down and prayed for someone to come to me,
knowing that I was in God's will.

Sure enough, within 60 seconds, two young men sat right next to me. I overheard one of them say that they were there until 9:00 a.m., so I knew I had at least 30 minutes to speak to them.

One of them came under conviction when I spoke of his personal sins, and he glanced at his watch twice. I told him that he had until 9:00 a.m., so there was no need to worry about the time, and that it was guilt that was making him feel uncomfortable. That made him smile. Sometimes people don't realize why they react the way they do. I prayed with them both individually, and for God to heal an injured arm of one of the men, and they seemed very appreciative.

In an earlier chapter, I mentioned how I use "I.Q. tracts" when witnessing. These little cards make it so much easier for me.

Probably the most difficult thing about witnessing for most of us, is swinging from a conversation about something like the weather, to the subject of the things of God. At that point, our fear of rejection runs wild.

These tracts make the swing from the natural to the spiritual, as smooth as butter. People do the test on side one, then go straight into the questions about God, almost always without offense. The best way to show you their
potential,
is to have you do the tests yourself:

There are six; if you found three, you are normal. Usually seven out of ten people get three F's. If you found three, go back and check again. We have had people write to us and say, "There aren't six F's," and have had to send the card back with the "F's" circled. If you can't find them, write to us and we will circle the three "
ofs
" you missed.

TEST YOUR I.Q.

Read OUT LOUD the wording in the three triangles:

If you said, "Paris in the spring, Bird in the hand and
Once
in a lifetime," you got three wrong, try again. The word "the" and "
a
" are repeated. It's obvious,
once you see it.

Here is the third test (begin with the top 1,000,
then
add 40, etc.):

If you added the sum up the way you were told, you probably think the answer is 4,000. We mistakenly think 3,090 plus 10 is 4,000, when 3,090 plus 10 is actually 3,100.

Each of these tracts gives the answer on side two,
then
there are six questions about the things of God:

—Here is another I.Q. Test; answer Yes or No OUT LOUD:

1/
Is
there a God?

2/ Does God care about right & wrong?

3/ Are God's standards the same as ours?

4/ Will God punish sin?

5/
Is
there a Hell?

6/ Do you avoid Hell by living a good life?

The answers are, 1/ Yes.
2/ Yes.
3/ No. 47 Yes.
5/ Yes.
6/ No.
You can't afford to be wrong;
find out the truth—ask God to forgive your sins,
then
trust Jesus Christ, who took your punishment by dying on the cross for you. Read the Bible daily and obey what you read ... God will never let you down.

How to Use the Card

Probably the most difficult thing about
witnessing,
is bringing up the subject of the things of God. The
Card
does that for you, inoffensively. Another difficulty,
is knowing
what to say, the
Card
will help guide you through the Gospel. Often people are self-confident and proud—the
Card
will almost always humble them—
don't leave home without it.

Often you don't know if the person you are speaking to is trusting in Grace or in self-righteousness—this card will find that out for you within two minutes of meeting him. In fact, it will also tell you his intimate beliefs about God, sin, Hell and judgment.

Since I was converted in 1972, I have given out 50,000—60,000 tracts (not to the same person), and have experimented in ways to get them into the hands of the unsaved. I've found that there is an effective and inoffensive way to get strangers to take a tract.

Keep the cards in your wallet or purse, then as you are getting one out (you will have their attention as you are giving them something out of your wallet —so it is of value), ask,
"Did you get one of these?"
This question has a two-fold effect. It stimulates curiosity, as well as making them feel that they are missing out on something (which they are).

As they take it, they will usually ask, "One of what?" Smile and say,
"It's an I.Q. test."
Most people will also smile when they hear this (something to do with the human ego); it is so refreshing to have someone smile when given a tract. Many will try it straight away. As they read it, build a bridge by gently pointing out the object. If they fail the test, be sensitive that they may feel embarrassed when you point out their error. Take the opportunity to relate to them, saying that the majority fail it. Then say,
"Now try the other side."

Don't worry
if the person passes the test on Side One; just say,
"You did well... now try the other side, it's far more important."

So far you have had time to get to know the person (especially if they failed the test). Now
comes
the next benefit of this card. The majority of those who look at the second side, begin to "play the game" and actually do what the card says; they read OUT LOUD the answers to the six questions on Side Two—1/ Is there a God? They say, "Yes" or "No". 2/ Does God care about right and wrong
?,
etc.