GRASPING THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPART THE WORD
We must learn to take the opportunity to minister the holy Word. Regardless of how much you would act in a spontaneous way, you must grasp some time to minister something of the holy Word. In talking with that lady, it seems that the sister did not minister anything of the Word to her. However, that lady responded by telling the sister that she would not reject the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, she was also ready to receive whatever the sister would speak to her. By these two points, we can realize that this lady had already received something. It was wise not to go further at that time. However, in most cases we must take the opportunity to minister something of the Word into the ones we visit. We should not go too fast, yet we should not waste our time. We must minister something of the holy Word to these ones concerning Christ, concerning God, and concerning God’s salvation. On the one hand, we must be so spontaneous, so ordinary, and so human, not giving people any impression that we are pushing something. On the other hand, we must learn to skillfully grasp the time to speak something of the Word, even if it is only for a few minutes. It is always best to use a verse from the Bible. We must impart this verse into the ones we are visiting to fulfill our main purpose.
If we have a burden to help these ones know that their sins have all been forgiven, we should wait for the appropriate time and then open to a verse from the Bible concerning God’s forgiveness. Then we can minister such a verse to these ones. This is not easy, so we all have to learn by practice. We must grasp the right time, minister the right verse, and minister it in a way that is brief yet impresses them very deeply.
To select a good verse concerning God’s forgiveness is not difficult, but to apply such a verse properly requires skill. Acts 10:43 says, “To this One all the prophets testify that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” To apply this verse, first you could ask the new one to read it. When he comes to the words “everyone who believes,” you should check with him, saying, “Everyone who what?” Let him say, “Who believes.” Then right away you can ask, “Have you believed?” He might answer, “Yes, I believed last night.” Have him continue to read: “Who believes in Him.” Check with him word by word: “Have you believed in Him? Him refers to Christ the Savior. Have you believed in Him?” Surely he will say, “Yes, I have believed in Him.” You may ask, “Then, what would happen?” and let him continue, “Who believes in Him receives.” You ask, “Receives what?” He reads, “Receives forgiveness.” You ask, “Forgiveness of what?” He answers, “Forgiveness of sins.” While he is reading, you can follow his reading and check word by word in this way. Then you may ask him to read the whole verse. This will impress him with some living word from the Bible. After your application of this verse, you can check with him, “How about your sins now?” He might say, “My sins have all been forgiven.” You ask, “How do you know?” He would tell you that this verse says so.
To merely read to the new ones does not work very well. We must develop our skill so that we can impart a verse into them. This is like nailing a piece of wood to something. You have to nail it properly or it will come off. We must develop the skill to impart a verse into someone perfectly and completely. This will capture the new ones, and they will never escape because such a verse is in them. This is why I am very repetitious in my speaking. When I speak something, I speak it repeatedly to impress the hearers so that they can never forget. Often I will speak one thing from many different angles.
Do not think that to go to people’s homes and have home meetings with them is an easy thing. First we must learn to be spontaneous, and second we must learn how to grasp the opportunity to minister something of the Word into the people we contact.
(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, Chapter 15, by Witness Lee)
