Bible Quiz: Each week this blog will begin with two questions. The answers are at the end of the blog. Have fun!!
According To the Bible 1. At the Passover, the Death Angel killed the first born male in every Egyptian household – one death per household.
2. Hell is separation from God.
Dear Prayer Warriors,
I have always felt that the best way to learn a new skill is from someone who is not gifted in the area. Later, if you are gifted, then a gifted mentor is a true blessing, but not at the beginning. In the beginning stages, a skilled but ungifted teacher is always preferable. Why, you ask? Because, if you are like most and not gifted in the area, you will need to acquire the skill using the ungifted track and that is very hard for the gifted to do. The problem with gifted people is that, well, they are gifted. (1) They tend to get bored waiting for the ungifted person to acquire the skill; (2) They lack empathy, having never struggled themselves; (3) They, as a general rule, would rather be doing it than teaching it. That is only natural as it is their gift; (4) And, worst of all, they constantly use the phrase dreaded by all those ungifted being taught by the gifted - “Just relax, it’s easy, watch me and do as I do.” Whether a foreign language, a sports skill or a musical instrument, in my experience the skillful yet ungifted teacher is much preferred. The ungifted teacher does not get bored. He has great empathy for your struggle. He enjoys teaching and can be heard to reassure, “Listen, I know it is hard, I thought I would never get it down, don’t be discouraged, this part still gives me fits.”
This is true in evangelism, which is why I think I make a good teacher. I am definitely not gifted in evangelism. It is one of the hardest of the spiritual disciplines for me. I cringe as I read books written by those who have the gift of evangelism. According to them it is easy - you just do it as you go through life. They give example after example and then say the dreaded words - “Just relax, it’s easy, watch me and do as I do.” The only problem is that if you are not gifted, it is not easy - which is why most people quit.
Now if you take up piano and find you are not gifted, you can quit guilt-free. If you take up tennis and find you are not gifted, you can quit guilt-free. If you take a foreign language and find that you are not gifted, you can quit guilt-free. Not so, though, with witnessing. If you begin to learn how to witness and find you are not gifted, you do not get to quit. For the Christian, witnessing is to be a part of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your life whether you are gifted or not.
It is like getting dressed in the morning. I do not remember being taught how to get dressed, but I know my mother taught me. I have an idea, though, of what my mom went through as El and I taught all four of our children to get up in the morning and dress themselves. It is something I do. I take it for granted, and it is easy. However, I have a close friend with a degenerative neurological disease. Getting dressed for him is not easy. What once took a few minutes, now takes over an hour. It is hard, but he still gets dressed in the morning. He does not use this as an excuse to walk around naked. He gets dressed. It is hard. He still does it. We witness. If we are not gifted, it is hard, but we still do it.
We are all required to minister outside of our gifts. If you do not have the gift of mercy, you still have to be merciful. If you do not have the gift of administration, you still have to balance your books. If you do not have the gift of liberality, you still have to give. If you do not have the gift of miracles, you still have to pray for miracles. If you do not have the gift of healing, you still have to pray for the sick. If you do not have the gift of teaching, you still have to teach. And if you do not have the gift of evangelism, you still have to witness. The only problem is that people who freely function outside their gifts in the aforementioned examples seem to think that witnessing is the exception. I don’t know how many times I have heard people say, “I am not gifted in evangelism” as an excuse not to witness. I want to reply, “Great, I am not gifted in mercy” – POW. Of course those not gifted in evangelism expect me to be merciful to them (even though I am not gifted in mercy) and so is it unreasonable to expect them to be witnesses for Christ along with me and all the other ungifted witnesses in the Body of Christ.
It is my conviction that witnessing is the only universal manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. All Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-controlled Christians witness because this is what the Holy Spirit does (see Acts 1:8; Revelation 22:17; John 16:7–14). You can claim anything you want to about your spiritual prowess, but, if you are not witnessing, you are not doing what the Holy Spirit does or wants to do through you.
By witness, I mean a clear presentation of the gospel of Christ using the Word of God (see Hebrews 4:12; John 17:17; 1 Peter 1:23–25). It is not your “story;” it is the gospel message. It is not a witness about you but about Christ (see 1 John 5:10 – 12). Your story is a nice picture frame, but like all good frames, the less noticed the better the frame. It is also a verbal presentation. No one can receive Christ through a means other than the imparting of specific knowledge concerning Christ (see 1 John 5:11-13; 1 Corinthians 2:14–16). This can only come through verbal or written form. It is to be centered upon the transforming power of the holy, eternal, inerrant written Word of God, not our paraphrase. It is not good works. Good works may open the door to the witness, but it is not the witness. In fact, it is my personal conviction that it is inherently dishonest to do good works and then not include a clear presentation of the Gospel - or an offer to do so which is declined (see Galatians 2:20).
In Russia, as in all the countries we visit, we seek to motivate men and women to share the gospel. One of the reasons I look forward to going to Russia and to ministering with the reformed churches in Russia is their commitment to biblical evangelism. I am not gifted, they are not gifted, and we slog it out together. What I have to offer them is not the gift, nor my gift, but the heart.
As you pray for Pastor Ravil and Pastor Oleg and their churches, let me share a few stories in my next blog which may help in guiding your prayers.
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon Director – Grace Community Int.
Answers to this week’s Bible Quiz…
1. False - Exodus 11:4-5 & 12:12. The Bible says the “first born” – this could be male or female. Plus, if a first born Father was married to a first born Mother and they had one child and living with them was a first born grandmother married to a first born grandfather and guarding the home was the pick of the litter, the first born, then every single person in the home would die, as well as the dog. All first borns were put to death by the Death Angel.
2. False - Rev 14:10-11. Notice that man, when in hell, is being tortured by God. That Jesus and the angels are looking on. Hell is not the absence of God but rather the very personal judgment of God. It is not that God simply passes judgment and then turns away but rather He is both judicial Judge and the Judge who carries out the punishment. Notice, too, that satan does not rule hell nor carry out the judgment of God but rather is in hell experiencing the same judgment as the unregenerate sinner (see also Revelation 20:10).
Now ask yourself – what other things about the Bible do I believe which are in reality false? From now on when something is taught about the Bible your first questions will be – “What Book, Chapter and Verse establishes this?”
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