Cornerstone

John 12:23-27 (25)

David Augsburger writes in Sticking My Neck Out that when James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the captain of the ship sought to turn him back. “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages,” he cried. Calvert only replied, “We died before we came here.” (p. 154)

The paradox is that we must go down before we can go up. We must surrender before we can serve. If you would serve Jesus you must follow Him. His way led to a cross.

This type of commitment brought great men of God to express their heart desire:

Evangelist George Whitefield said, “O Lord, give me souls, or take my soul.”

Missionary Henry Martyn cried, “Here let me burn out for God.”

Missionary David Brainerd declared, “Lord, to Thee I dedicate myself. Oh, accept of me be Thine forever. Lord, I desire nothing else; I desire nothing more.”

Evangelist Dwight L. Moody implored, “Use me, then, my Savior, for whatever purpose and in whatever way Thou mayest require. Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel; fill it with Thy Grace.”

Reformer Martin Luther prayed, “Do Thou, my God, stand by me against all the world’s wisdom and reason. Oh, do it! Thou must do it. Stand by me, Thou true, eternal God!”

Missionary “Praying Hyde” pleaded, “Father, give me these souls, or I die.”

Dr. Gayle Woods

Matt 13:1-9 (3)

Jesus was always ahead of His time. Even in our own day many do not seem to either accept or realize this truth., If we can understand this little picture lesson of the receptivity of the soils then we will be more likely to have a direct influence on those whom we are trying to win to Christ.

Not all people have the same level of interest concerning their salvation at a given time. They are at different points in their spiritual pilgrimage each day. This truth cannot be even limited to the four soils that Jesus described. He was not trying to limit the possibilities to four but was trying to teach a concept.

Due to varying circumstances, levels of training, understanding, emotional, psychological and spiritual concerns a person may be more willing to listen to the gospel at 9 a.m. on a given day than he will at 2 p.m. On the other hand his receptivity may wane again in a few hours and not return to the same level of interest for several days, weeks, or months. Knowing this we must seize the moment of opportunity to present the gospel when we see that someone is ready. We must continue to cultivate relationships with those who are not presently ready to come to Christ.

Dr. Gayle Woods