Under the title ‘Fear of Man’ we’ve started to talk about making a difference and, if we do it, that we may be persecuted as a result. We basically concluded that in certain countries, with so-called religious freedom, we will be persecuted if we do the Lord’s work as he would like it done. Paul told Timothy: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Once again the Lord has prepared the way in the Bible for those who would be prepared to go beyond religion to be an active soldier for Christ. The Bible is actually cleverly written and if we make it our business to know it, the Holy Spirit will use that knowledge to guide us and keep us safe. The Lord works by means of His Word and responds to His Word when used in prayer and in service.
Jesus told His disciples when He sent them out: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves,” (Matthew 10:16). What He tells us, His disciples, here is that we must carefully listen to how the Holy Spirit wants to reach a soul, i.e. walk in the Spirit. Remember we are in a war. Unsaved souls currently belong to the world and the world belongs to the devil that makes every effort to protect his property, which is why Christians get persecuted. Satan continuously puts structures into place that give him a mandate to persecute Christians. Communism in China e.g. prohibits Christianity and so does Islam in the Muslim countries. In the western world political correctness is his latest strategy. Even though religious freedom exists, political correctness demands that human rights be protected. Clever, isn’t it?
But the Lord is the God of the universe. He is almighty, all-knowing and much craftier than the devil could be, only in an honourable way, and has sent His Holy Spirit to guide us. The devil will never come to a person and say: “Boo, I’m the devil and I don’t want you to follow God.” He comes in very sly ways. In the same way the Lord’s disciples must depend on the Holy Spirit in being clever and crafty in the way we witness to people.
We need to keep in mind that it’s not our job to convince people to follow the Lord, but that of the Holy Spirit. All we need to do initially is to sow the seed. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” For every soul that gets saved, many seeds have been planted in their hearts. You may witness to someone and then move on, whilst continuing to intercede for him. A little later the Lord sends someone else to witness to the person, who waters the seed and so it continues until the person gets saved. Sometimes it’s someone close to you and you do most of the sowing and watering, but it’s still the Lord who brings the person to salvation. When the person is ready, the Lord will send someone in for the harvest.
In order to limit persecution we need to obey the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples to witness. Don’t preach - tell your story. You can tell what you’ve witnessed in your own salvation and Christian life, in that of someone else or of some miracle you’ve observed. Whilst doing this you can weave a whole teaching, with scripture quotations galore, into it, but telling it in the first person as a story makes it a testimony and not preaching. Isn’t it crafty?
Lord, show me how to be crafty in my witnessing.
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