For Lord’s Day, July 20, 2014

(Photo source: http://anjou.uwaterloo.ca/gallery2/d/4748-2/8596_dripping_water_over_rock.jpg)

Dear Saints,

Relational evangelism over time can be trying and tiresome.  It’s easy to want to give up. But I want to give you a few encouragements to keep being a witness to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, and with people in other spheres of your life.

First, remember what Elder Huffmaster shared in last week’s Sabbath Class: statistics show that the majority of people who come to church do so by influence and invitation of a family member or friend.  This doesn’t mean we should not exhaust as many outreach opportunities as we can, but may you and I exhaust ourselves reaching out to others with Christ as best we can.  For as we will be exhorted tomorrow morning, “Always Give Christ Your Best”.

Here’s another encouragement to keep witnessing to hard hearts.  In this recent article by Covenant Eyes, observe how a constant outreach over many years finally broke a pornography producer and by God’s sovereign grace made him a Christian:

Matt: I know your story is a long one, and we will probably get into it during the course of this conversation. But you left the industry. What was the breaking point or what was it that made you get out?

Donny: You know, I was really motivated by hatred towards God and towards Christianity, and a missionary group came into the pornography conventions that we had every year in Las Vegas, and over the course of 4 years really broke down my hatred. And once that hatred was gone, I couldn’t justify what I was doing anymore, and I had to finally cry out to God.

This story reminds me of what one of my seminary professors said ministry is like: water dripping on a rock.  Rocks are hard and don’t seem to change, but over time, a constant water drip can leave an indelible, unchanging mark.  Ministers need to keep dripping.  And you need to keep dripping  as you live and speak a witness for Jesus.  Rocky hearts can be carved into over time, and finally be broke open by the Gospel.

Semper Reformanda,

Pastor Grant