ARE YOU BOLD IN THE RIGHT WAY?

Date: Mon Sep 10 20:55:26 2007

Timidity is not a characteristic that is exalted in scripture. Humility is. Meekness is. But not timidity. Being humble does not equate to believing what you say has no value. Being meek does not equate to deferring to what everyone else wants to do. Timidity has no place in the life of a Christian.

Now to be sure, I am not advocating that everyone function alike. I really have problems with those who insist all Christians do ANYTHING alike! Have you ever been in a service where you are told you have to worship in a certain way? I have heard preacher after preacher bawl out people for not being extremely animated. Only a handful ever respond. It is sort of like messages on giving ñ no matter what you say, people just do what they are going to do, so maybe conservation of oneís breath is in order! I do not excuse laziness in worship ñ lifelessness, lack of enthusiasm, etc. However, not everyone can dance at the speed of light or be one of the Three Tenors. I have frequently heard ìSing Like You Mean Itî (i.e. be a hypocrite and let your loud singing be done in place of actually believing what you are singing) and calls to be extroverted, etc. Some folks do everything loud. Some folks get excited about everything ñ not Christ alone! There are personality types, and God is not asking you to be someone you are not. The Bible is clear that be are a BODY OF CHRIST, and that not everyone is the same or has the same function. What we SHOULD all be doing is worshipping the Lord in whatever way he has gifted us, and to do it HEARTILY unto the Lord.

I am treating BOLDNESS the same way. Some folks who witness in an extremely aggressive way believe everyone should do it the same way. One size fits all. That is the lazy way. What God really wants is for us to be sensitive to his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works DIFFERENT ways in DIFFERENT people. Therefore, if you approach everyone the same way. you will only be approaching SOME according to the Spirit and the rest will remain in their sin and perhaps be totally turned off to the gospel. I remember a fellow who used to witness in City Hall Courtyard. He came up to me the same way he apparently came up to everyone and basically told me I was going to hell. He had a spiel is was giving and it was one size fits all. He did not even allow for the possibility that anyone was saved already! Certainly not discerning the Spirit, as I was already in the Kingdom. Of course, some folks believe NO ONE but them is saved, and there is not much one can do about that. Satan uses pride a lot in this area, and it is brutal to deal with a proud Christian.

So, you may ask, how can I be bold in the right way? Simply obey God. God will tell you when to speak and when to be silent. Did you know that Jesus did NOT speak every time he had the opportunity, or every time he was asked a question? The Father discerned the situation and he told Jesus when to speak and when to keep silent. We are not above Jesus. We must do the same. Some folks are compelled to speak all the time, but it does no good to speak AT people or to people who have no interest in what the Lord has put in you. Do not cast your pearls before swine, but indeed give witness boldly whenever there is a hungry heart, and be sure that witness is done in the power of the Holy Spirit and in a way that will being glory to God.

It is easy to witness about our church or our ministry. Many people have an interest in those simply to get to know you better. It is more rare to simply witness about Christ himself. Yet that is truly what Christ wants ñ to proclaim Christ and Christ crucified. There is a deep need in people to be SAVED, not to simply become more acquainted with religious organizations. As good as those may be.

So how CAN you be bold in the way that Jesus wants? Well, first you obey the promptings of the Lord. If he tells you to speak with someone, SPEAK to him or her. He may also prompt you to speak to a group of people ñ that happened frequently with Jesus and his disciples. Do not ignore them. Do not be frightened if they look different from you. Do not be afraid of rejection.

My wife Verileah does this a LOT. Perhaps God prompts her more in this area than other Christians, because he knows she is willing to do it. One has to be prepared no matter what day it is or what time it is. We were driving home from a Kingdom Gospel Tabernacle cell-church meeting and it was almost ten oíclock at night.

She needed a prescription and her pharmacy (one of the Eckerdís that Rite Aid bought) was closed. I suggested we go to Walgreenís. She saw a 24-hour Rite Aid first, and asked it we could go there instead. I doubted they would have the records on their computer, and drove past. My wife asked again if I would go there, so I turned around and went. I was in the car about 35 minutes disgusted about the fact that the pharmacy was seemingly SO SLOW. I mean, it wasnít as though the store was full of people. There were only a handful of cars in the lot. I went to the door and saw my wife with a small bag talking to the cashier at the front counter. I went back to the car so as not to interrupt because I know God uses her mightily with strangers. When my wife returned she was SO happy. It wasnít because she got her prescription, because she didnít. They could not fill it. But the lady at the counter needed Christ. She was unhappy looking which Verileah picked up on right away. She found out the woman had lost her 20-year-old daughter. The woman responded to her offer to pray for her, and the woman accepted Christ standing by her register in Rite Aid!

She lived in Northeast Philadelphia, and my wife mentioned she might want to go to Calvary Chapel and/or our Thursday Cell Church meeting. Verileah has been open to doing this, and probably prays for anywhere from one to eight or more people per day she meets n the course of life. She prayed for a Sales Clerk in Macyís on a Saturday during a white sale ñ the woman came from behind her register into the aisle to pray with us. She prayed with her Jewish doctor. She prays with the Pharmacist, the teens hanging around outside a mall, people in restaurants or in supermarket aisles. Only about TWO people have refused her.

The fact is, there are a LOT of hungry people out there, and they are not all eager to eat Christians for lunch. There are many people who are not looking for religion, they are looking for relief from sin, from the world, and from the life they are living. Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. We have to do the same. Except for us, he still does the seeking ñ all we have to do is respond to his promptings and speak. Are you willing simply to obey him? If you respond to his promptings, whether they come once a week or once per hour, you will be BOLD in the RIGHT WAY. Obeying Jesus IS the RIGHT WAY. No MORE, no LESS!