Witness WHY REVIVAL FADES
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:24.
Do you believe that witnessing is always spontaneous? If you really have gotten a glimpse of the love of Jesus, will you be able to keep still about it? Or will it be automatic for you to talk of the things of the gospel? Look at two sentences in Steps to Christ. The first one says, "No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus."--Page 78. So let's nail that point down. If you have become involved in the things of the gospel, you will have a desire to tell to others about the friend you have found in Jesus. The other sentence says, "The Christian who will not exercise his God-given powers not only fails to grow up into Christ, but he loses the strength that he already had."--Page 81.
When you put these two together, you have this conclusion: In the first enthusiasm of accepting the gospel, I have something to tell. But if I don't tell it, I will lose whatever I have. You will have to conclude, then, that it must be possible not to tell. Witnessing must not always be spontaneous. If telling was always an automatic thing, then it would be irrelevant to include the second thought, that if you don't tell, you will lose what you have already. So although the initial impulse to tell is spontaneous, the deliberate action may not be that spontaneous.
It is impossible to sit in your closet and meditate and read the gospel, and become excited about it for only so long, and then it will go sour unless you begin to share with others. If you try to hide it, you will end up in greater darkness than before you started.
"Should we give our lives up to prayerful meditation, our lights would grow dim, for light is given to us that we may impart it to others, and the more we impart light, the brighter our own light will become."--Selected Messages, book 1, p. 139. Those who have known great revival, but failed to become involved in sharing, will find that the revival will fade and darkness will return.
Do you know what it means to speak to someone specifically about the things of the gospel, and what Jesus means to you? It is as we share the love of Jesus with others that we draw nearer to Him ourselves.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:24.
Do you believe that witnessing is always spontaneous? If you really have gotten a glimpse of the love of Jesus, will you be able to keep still about it? Or will it be automatic for you to talk of the things of the gospel? Look at two sentences in Steps to Christ. The first one says, "No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus."--Page 78. So let's nail that point down. If you have become involved in the things of the gospel, you will have a desire to tell to others about the friend you have found in Jesus. The other sentence says, "The Christian who will not exercise his God-given powers not only fails to grow up into Christ, but he loses the strength that he already had."--Page 81.
When you put these two together, you have this conclusion: In the first enthusiasm of accepting the gospel, I have something to tell. But if I don't tell it, I will lose whatever I have. You will have to conclude, then, that it must be possible not to tell. Witnessing must not always be spontaneous. If telling was always an automatic thing, then it would be irrelevant to include the second thought, that if you don't tell, you will lose what you have already. So although the initial impulse to tell is spontaneous, the deliberate action may not be that spontaneous.
It is impossible to sit in your closet and meditate and read the gospel, and become excited about it for only so long, and then it will go sour unless you begin to share with others. If you try to hide it, you will end up in greater darkness than before you started.
"Should we give our lives up to prayerful meditation, our lights would grow dim, for light is given to us that we may impart it to others, and the more we impart light, the brighter our own light will become."--Selected Messages, book 1, p. 139. Those who have known great revival, but failed to become involved in sharing, will find that the revival will fade and darkness will return.
Do you know what it means to speak to someone specifically about the things of the gospel, and what Jesus means to you? It is as we share the love of Jesus with others that we draw nearer to Him ourselves.
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