This ministry method is utilized for special situations in one on one ministry. Easy to do, yet so effective.
(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes are throughout sermon)
As members of the body of Christ, the Scriptures make it clear that God uses us to build each other up. It is ministry, and God gifts every one of us to do it. Ministers are servants. It doesn't matter how insignificant, or unqualified, you think you are; you are God's servant. What matters is how, where, and when, you serve Christ according to the way God designed you. God uses bold people. God uses exciting people. God uses amiable people. God uses timid people. He also uses somber, skeptical types. God even uses cynical people. There are all kinds of broad headings that describe people according to their personality strengths; and God uses them. Just like there are all these different types of people, there are also various ways that God's people can minister. One way God uses us to minister is through giving. There are also the various kinds of teaching and preaching ministries--They are the speaking gifts. God blesses others through teaching His word. There is heralding the good news of Christ and His New Covenant truth. There is proclaiming things by urging people to live the truth. In the Bible, we see prophets identified as foretelling future events through supernatural revelation. All these kinds of things can be categorized as communication gifts, where God uses His people to proclaim His truths.
This morning, I am going to teach a way to use our God given gift of our individual personalities in conjunction with the gift of communication, to minister to others. You don't have to be eloquent for this. You don't need to be some kind of debater; and you don't need to be confrontative, or clever. But you will need to recognize some Biblical ministry parameters. For example, we will need to keep in mind that women are not to teach or exercise authority over men as church leaders according to 1 Timothy 2; but women can employ this ministry method with other women, or in evangelism situations, where they may be used by God to share the Gospel of the grace of Christ for salvation. We must also keep in mind that not many of us should become teachers, because if we do, we are subjecting ourselves to stricter judgment according to James 3:1. With those things in mind as serious considerations, this ministry method I am talking about is simple if you choose to employ it. You will be relying on the two main undergirdings of godly ministry. You will be relying upon:
A) The word of God,
B) The Holy Spirit.
For this powerful ministry method, you will not need to necessarily know the word of God like a seminary theologian; But, you will need to have sufficient knowledge of God's word to understand how to proceed. And when I speak of the Holy Spirit, I mean that He is your personal guide and power source; but I am not talking about some mystical feeling, or some exclusive anointing. I am saying that relying on the Holy Spirit's work is an absolute necessity. When the time comes for this ministry method, you will not have to do any religious ritual. You won't need to get all mystical, or anything like that, to try and recognize the Spirit's guidance. We are going to learn one particular ministry practice that is used in unique situations where you take reliance upon the Holy Spirit to where you are consciously working with God in what He is already revealing to the person you will minister to, with what God has already revealed to you from His word. Because this practice is according to Biblical precepts, you can be assured that you are being led by God's Spirit. I'm talking about a very simple, yet effective ministry practice that God will consistently use for His glory if you will do it. Whenever I practice this ministry method, God demonstrates that He uses it for His glory time and time again. I did not invent what I am teaching this morning. I learned the basic principle from a book that was written 150 years ago by a Pastor named Spencer. The book was written to instruct ministers in ways to minister effectively. The beauty about this particular ministry approach, is that most any Christian can utilize their current gifts from God to minister in this way.
The ministry practice can be broken down into 4 action points. Whenever you are communicating with someone, a particular state of concern regarding the person's spiritual, moral, and mental condition may arise. In other words, they're going tell you about it. This is the fertile ground (this is the time) for this ministry method. You may not have a scheduled meeting for this to happen. You may not expect this to happen. Such things happen in everyday conversations; in various kinds of text messages, and so forth. They are encounters that can be in season or out of season. When these opportunities arise, in God's providential control of all things, the four simple activities required from you for this ministry approach are,
1) Listening
2) Identifying
3) Agreeing (if the person is correct)
then
4) Speaking (by communicate by elaborating, yet, it is communicating and elaborating in a certain decisive manner)
It is really that easy; but there is a particular uniqueness about this that must be taught, (which is the key uniqueness that makes it so effective in certain ministry situations). So what I want to do this morning is explain the particular uniqueness and the particular ministry setting elements that are involved. Please prepare your heart to learn along with me in this sermon titled,
The Amazing Ministry Method of Driving God's Planted Arrow Deeper Into the Wound to Produce Divine Healing
[prayer]
Do you remember the story of how Jesus confronted the Pharisees with their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? The blasphemy was that they accused God, as the Spirit, of being, Satan. The great irony is that their speech was manifesting their own spiritual inclinations which came from Satan. This is why Jesus told those rejecting Pharisees that they are of their father the Devil in John 8:44. They manifested what they are. Immediately after they blasphemed the Holy Spirit, Jesus says,
"36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37
Jesus shows that God places a great emphasis upon the words we speak. Words are important to God. God communicates with words, and he has designed us to communicate with words. Of course, not all communication through words is necessarily confined to speech. There are written words; there are words that are made in sign language, and there are electronically generated words. Though words are not always conveyed through utterance, their significance is no less important. God's Holy Scriptures, written by men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God, (2 Peter 1:21) demonstrate this principle. The main point is that the words that people convey, have very important meanings and consequences. Keep this in mind, because Jesus continues teaching. He says some more things to the Pharisees that have to do with the communication that comes from within people. He says,
"17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." Matthew 15:17-19
@1 The things that come out of the ______________ come from the heart. (Matthew 15:17-19)
Jesus is teaching something that is a reality of existence. Our observations of people demonstrate this to us time and time again. Crude, foul mouthed, hateful, boastful, and arrogant people, speak crude, foul, hateful, boastful, and arrogant words, don't they? They are words that come from a sinful heart. Lost humanity, being in Adam, is evil. Everyone is born evil, and is practically evil, where out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, stealing, false witnesses, slander, and all of these types of things. The words that come from an evil heart, defile the person. In examining Christ's declarations to the Pharisees, we get a picture of how the words of men reflect their hearts. On the other hand, the words of people, who have conviction put in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, reflect the conviction. God will convict the elect sinner of his sin and need to turn to Christ for salvation. It is put there by the Holy Spirit through the word of God. A person who is born again, speaks words of sober self-analyzation in conviction by the Holy Spirit. They are words of conscious realization of sinfulness before our Holy God. Saved people speak Christian love words, because His love has been shed abroad within saved hearts. As Christians, we are convicted, and so we speak love words, confession words, and grace words, because God teaches us, and we know we are not good enough to justify ourselves by our own human efforts; we know that we are absolutely privileged to receive God's grace. We speak love words, because God has put His love in us for our brothers and sisters. He convicts us of sin so that we keep on repenting and speaking words that accompany salvation. It is what proceeds from the heart, and that is what we are concerned with this morning, because it gives us step number one in this personal ministry.
/1/
Step number one is that, as you encounter someone who is revealing their heart to you for ministry, you;
Listen with spiritual ears to a person's words of conviction, and inner recognition of sin.
It does not matter if they are saved, or unsaved, because we minister to the saved in respect to edification, and we minister to the unsaved in respect to the way of salvation. The point is that you listen with spiritual ears that are in tune. You handle the saved, and the unsaved differently, but the starting point is the same--you listen. Listen to someone who is unsaved when they express sorrow concerning their empty life, and its futility. Why would you listen for that?; Because the word of God says our life is a vapor in James. In Ecclesiastes, God calls it futility and striving after the wind. God says that all who die without Christ as their Lord and Savior will perish. So yes, without Christ, life is, in fact, futility. If the unsaved person says,
"Life is meaningless. What is the point?",
then listen to that, because life is, in a certain spiritual sense, meaningless without Christ as your life. You are listening for a conviction that agrees with God. Get that, because it is so important for this listening part.
Listen for that which is in agreement with God.
You already know that the word of God says that all are appointed to die, and then comes the judgment, and that abundant life is in Christ, and salvation is in Christ, and is necessary. You will get to that later, but not yet--not while you are tuned into that which is in agreement with what God says in His word. What you are listening for is conviction of sin and futility coming from a heart that is awakening to these things. You may not know why they have begun to recognize these things. It may be after hearing a sermon; or reading something. It could be because of something you said earlier. But whatever it is, the Spirit's truth is being made evident as piercing their hearts. They may be talking about an act of sin, or sins in general. Instantly, you know that what they are expressing is supported with the fact that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Whenever the soul is pierced by the Spirit, they should be convicted of sin in their wicked lostness. It is the Biblically aligned conviction that you are listening for. Now, on the other hand, if the person is a Christian, then listen for words of sorrow concerning leading a life of mediocrity and seeming futility. Why are we listening for that?; because the word of God says that abundant life is not merely lip service to a Savior that is only remembered on Sunday mornings. Abundant life is found in being thirsty for the Lordship of that very same Savior. Abundant life is found in being an ambitious, willing, and faithful tool in God's hand. Abundant life is found in living out the full counsel of God, and not being content with the partial counsel, Acts 20:27. You listen to your brother or sister air-out their inner thoughts as they tell you, for example, that they are not the Christian parent they should be; or the Christian spouse they should be; or the christian child they should be. You listen to a parent as they tell you that they are thinking they are not raising their children biblically. You listen to them as they tell you that they know they need to be in, and committed to, a biblically defined church fellowship; but they are not. You listen for anything that is an affirmation that they are in sin according to the Bible, and that they are expressing that they are finally showing signs that they are convicted that it is sin. It could be anything that they admit is diminishing their utmost for God's highest. So, step number one is that you listen with spiritual ears to a person's words of conviction, and inner recognition of sin. Determine whether they are saved, or unsaved, so that you can move on to step number two.
/2/
What you are listening for in this ministry method, is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that is coming out to you from the person's very own words, and you pinpoint what it is--you identify the problem. This is step number 2--
You listen to their words, and then you identify the sin, or the problem that they are convicted of that occurs in disobedience to God's word.
Listen for them to express a conviction that you recognize is based upon precepts and principles from God's word. Think of a precept of scripture that marks the source of their conviction. It may be a direct verse in the Bible. It could be a whole passage that addresses something similar to what they are saying. The point is that you listen to their conviction first. Then you use the Bible to identify God's foundation of the conviction they are sensing. So, step number two is that you are pinpointing the problem in accord with the Bible.
/3/
Once you have identified it as being a godly conviction, then you do the next step, which is very simple. All you do, is,
Agree with the person, and let them know you agree with them.
It is that easy. At this point, you are just beginning to communicate back to them, but what you are doing is already powerful. But, at this stage, your only input is that you agree with them concerning the biblical conviction. You don't need to say a whole lot. You are just wanting to make your concerned agreement perfectly clear. You see, they are the ones who brought it up. They are the ones who repeated God's truth, whether they realize it, understand it, or not. They have opened the door by asserting the conviction. You must trust God that He has arranged it all. The point is that you agree, and so now you must let the person know it. Remember, they are the ones who are being worked on by God's Spirit. We are operating on the faith principle that God has shot His arrow into their heart. It has found its mark, and it is embedded there already. Conviction of sin is God's work that comes through His word, which they may have received from reading the Bible, through evangelism, preaching, teaching, or whatever. But, the conviction that is there, after the word of God has been applied to their hearts, is by the piercing, convicting, work of the Holy Spirit. This convicting, piercing, task of the Spirit is what Jesus talked about, where He says,
"8 And He [the Holy Spirit], when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;" John 16:8
@2 The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts the world of both __________ and righteousness. (John 16:8)
The Spirit is the convicter. In the body of Christ, there is a great Holy Spirit concert going on according to God's sovereign will. All of us have Christ's Spirit as God's children. And so, in this ministry method, you are a child of God who is listening with spiritual ears that are in tune. You are listening to identify the sin, and the problem that the person is being convicted of by the Spirit, and then, in concert, you agree with God on the matter. So the third thing is to agree, with the conviction, that there is a problem, and you let the person know it; and then you are ready to go to the fourth thing,
/4/
You speak: You elaborate; or I should say, you explain, but you do it in a key manner that I am about to reveal. This is going to be the personal action part that is the tough love key to this whole ministry method. Now remember, you have listened, you have identified, and you have agreed with the person, and so now here is the vital thing that must be done next:
You speak back to the person in a stronger, more penetrating way by affirming and elaborating upon the problem they stated, and you do so with the authority of God's word, and the warning of the consequences for their sin.
Have you ever seen those mirrors that magnify everything? You look into one of those, and your image is magnified. This is what you are doing. It is mirror magnification ministry. Be straightforward. Be uncompromising. This is the key to this ministry situation which is called, The Amazing Ministry Method of Driving God's Planted Arrow Deeper Into the Wound to Produce Divine Healing. In other words, you are operating on the premise that God is convicting the person, and the conviction is His arrow that has pierced them. God's dart is bothering them, and so you are not attempting to take the arrow out by applying pain killer and bandages by telling the person that what they are doing is okay, or that they don't need to worry, because after all, we are only human, and all that kind of stuff. Of course, you believe in grace, and you need to talk about God's grace for healing, but in driving the arrow deeper, you are immediately cooperating with the Spirit, where you are ministering in the direction of seriousness, and the need toward action, and repentance. You are mirror magnifying. God will bring the healing. But, in the meantime we are avoiding the all too common urgings toward impotent diminishment of what the Spirit is doing by saying to a brother or sister,
"Hey, you're under grace, so don't worry about it."
or to the unsaved,
"God loves everyone no matter what, so quit being so hard on yourself."
We are working with God. We are not working with liberal seminary professors of our day, who say
"You know, this is a gray area, so ease your mind my dear child. Don't you know, little one, that Christians are divided over this issue, so it must not be as important as you are making it out to be?"
We are against the powerless advice that reaches over to the arrow that the Holy Spirit has pierced into the heart (of the unsaved, or of a fellow believer) and attempts to pull it out and throw it away. We are not talking about gray areas. We are talking about clearly defined sin issues according to God's word. The Holy Spirit has already wounded the person in a good way. He's working on them with godly sorrow. You, as God's minister of the moment, are conspiring with the Holy Spirit to hammer the arrow down deeper. The wounding conviction, of course, is God's loving method of bringing about repentance and healing through the cross. It is the principle of Proverbs 27:5-6
"5 Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, ..." Proverbs 27:5-6
@3 better is open rebuke than ______________ that is concealed. (Proverbs 27:5-6)
Two friends are gently, lovingly, wounding the convicted sinner at this time--the Holy Spirit, and you. You are His minister of the moment, so, you are the tool in God's hands who is conspiring with the Holy Spirit in service to that individual. But it is hard, because the other person is in godly sorrow, and so your duty is to do the unnatural thing. It is the thing, that to natural eyes, seems so unloving. It is the unnatural thing of lovingly grabbing the arrow and pressing down, down, down, and keeping the point sharp, urgent, and real. It is hard because it does not seem like mercy; but it really is. It is supernatural mercy. So, you must do it, expecting the healing miracle to come where the pain will be lifted and the person's life will be changed through Christ.
If a Christian expresses to you that they are convicted that they are being immoral with someone. Find out what it is they are talking about. Then identify it as lasciviousness. Now you know they have a biblical conviction, and so this is what you are working with God with. Lasciviousness is from the Greek word, aselgeia. It is also translated as sensuality, licentiousness, lewdness, immorality, and a host of other words.
Lasciviousness means: involvement in purposeful sexual stimulation outside of the proper place of marriage. The Cambridge dictionary concisely states it as: "Expressing, creating or feeling a desire for sexual activity."
So the person may reveal to you that they have been purposefully inciting sexual stimulation outside of the proper place of marriage. So, you think, "What does God say about this?" The Bible has what God says. Lasciviousness is one of the evils that proceeds from the heart in Mark 7:22. It is an evil in the church in 2 Corinthians 12:21; It is a work of the flesh in Galatians 5:19; It is a sin of the unsaved who walk in the futility of their darkened minds in Ephesians 4:19; It is a sin of the Gentiles in 1 Peter 4:3, and it is an abuse of the grace of God in Jude 4. To purposely incite someone, who is not your spouse, by creating a desire to be sexually aroused, whether by what you are wearing around them, doing in front of them, or to them, or saying to them, is sin. It is (as Jude says plainly) an abuse of the grace of God. I have known numerous people who profess Christ, who are involved in lascivious activity. Sometimes they will tell me, in Holy Spirit conviction, of their concern. They have shared with me a spark of conviction about the sin. Someone may come to you with the same thing, and so the first thing that happens is that you listen to them. Then you identify the problem, and then, based upon the word of God, you affirm that it is a terrible thing. God says it is sin, and it is a horrible problem. You should quote Scripture if you can. Tell the sinning Christian that it desperately and immediately needs to be repented from, and then go further. When you elaborate, conspire with the Holy Spirit, and lovingly, intentionally, bury His arrow deeper so that you can reach any area that will try to find a way to compromise. Compromise is the area that you are wanting to sever. Compromise is the water that drowns out the fire of conviction. Using this principle, tell the person, that based upon the word of God, you agree that they are involved in sin that transgresses the royal law. They are not loving God, nor are they loving others with their lasciviousness. They are the active, promoting participant as they entice others from their clothing choice, in their flirting choice, to their touch choice. It is lustful lascivious wickedness. Call it evil. Remind them over and over again that such conviction that they are confessing is the Holy Spirit talking to them. Tell them specifically that it is God who has convicted them of this sin. Tell them it is a grievous sin of pernicious molestation. Tell them that society is lying to Christians, and the influence of our dark culture promotes lasciviousness as the norm--as innocent freedom to be enjoyed, but in reality, lasciviousness is a cancer upon that person and all who are connected to it, or tempted by the various actions. It is a horrible problem with severe consequences, and it desperately and immediately needs to be repented from right now. Be urgent, as you lovingly press the arrow down deep, deep, deep into the wound that is doing its life altering work. It is necessary because the conviction has been expressed, and now it is so easy for the birds of the air to come along and try to steal it away. You see, the world around us is not identifying lasciviousness as the biblically stated sin that it is. They try to pull the arrow out and bandage everything up. Hollywood, Nashville, and the fashion peddlers of our day, are teaching life trends that fight any notions of personal accountability for lasciviousness. To them, "prudence" and "modesty" and even "chastity" are curse words. Worse, there are so-called Christian experts who perform this ungodly arrow extracting operation. They are saying, concerning lascivious conduct of any kind, and many other Biblically evident sins, like dishonesty, unloving attitudes, pride, and compromise,
"Hey, that's a gray area, so don't worry about it. Just be careful. Don't listen to others; you've gotta do what God is telling you to do."
But God speaks through His word, and so He has been telling the body of Christ since the emerged church, what to do. In your ministry for the moment, God is convicting the soul who is troubled by their sin, and because you are His minister in the moment, God will use you to tell them what to do. But, the insidious influences go on, and they say,
"Listen to the voice of reason. Everything is fine with what you're doing as long as you do not actually have intercourse."
"Flirting never hurt anyone."
"Why are you so worried? You can wear whatever you want. It is their problem if they look at you and lust."
"It is okay to cheat your boss. He treats you badly anyway."
"Those people got what they deserve. You have every right to get revenge."
"Who do they think they are treating you like that anyway? You have every right to hate them for it."
"Hey, it's just a little white lie, and besides you need to protect yourself."
Remember, compromise is that last bastion of hope for someone to continue in their rebellion against God and His word. But, the world tries to break the magnifying mirror. They grab a telescope, flip it around so that you look at your life wrongly. Through the backwards telescope, everything you are looking at seems microscopically meaningless. And so what happens--
The arrow is extracted.
Compromise has been protected with a humanistic shield of self glory and honor. God's arrows are broken, and pitched into the fiery flames of a hellish philosophy that feigns edification, and inner healing, but in reality, they are the ones who are destroying the godly upward call of the body of Christ. And so the Holy Spirit is speaking, and people are getting convicted, and you and I as God tools in His hand, are confirming, and pressing, but at the same time there is an arrow extracting voice that the same person will get from the deceived, foolish, sinful elements of our postmodern culture. The way we battle this is through discipleship in the truth, from the word of God in the Bible. We don't throw personal opinions at them. Those kinds of things are arrows with rubber tips on them. Everyone has rubber tipped arrows. Keep those to yourself. There is no need, with this ministry method, to do anything else but lovingly drive the Spirit's convicting arrow, that is already there, down deeper.
It is so easy for us to go with our natural inclinations when we counsel someone who has been pierced through the heart by God. It is so easy to fail to be sensitive to how God works in people's lives, and so in seeking to soothe, and comfort, we can do the opposite of what God is already doing in the person's heart. There is no telling how many times well meaning Christians will come along and try to smooth over what God is doing. They want to help, but they end up diminishing the strength of God's conviction that He is working in the heart of someone, simply because they are trying to make the convicted person feel better. Or, they just listen and don't say anything. It is the accomplice work of looking the other way. Remember the principle we are talking about this morning. The principle is to lovingly press in God's arrow; faithful are the wounds of a friend. Paul the apostle expresses the wounding power of God in speaking His truth into people's lives without regret, where he writes,
"8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
@4 Sorrow that is according to the will of God produces ______________. (2 Corinthians 7:8-12)
[Notice that Paul says that they were made sorrowful according to the will of God. Paul goes on, and He calls it godly sorrow, saying,]
11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you:" 2 Corinthians 7:8-12
This is fruit of the Spirit being made manifest. Don't worry about breaking the person's spirit, soul, or bones. You will not break anything. Think of the Holy Sprit breaking through the shackles of bondage to free the person by using you to bury His point down sharply and precisely. God comes along and heals, and he will use you to be part of that action too. This is the beauty of the arrow. The arrow is not a device to destroy the person. We are under the grace Gospel of Christ. God's arrow is a medical tool to destroy the sin, and compromise, which God uses because of His same love in the same grace Gospel of Christ.
I said earlier that I first learned about this ministry approach from a man of God named Pastor Spencer. He was known as the "Bunyan of Brooklyn." Pastor Spencer kept a notebook of his pastoral dealings with people as lessons for counseling. The Bible, and his experiences, form the foundation for the books that he wrote. As we approach the end of the sermon this morning, I want to read to you one of Mr. Spencer's illustrations so that we can get a stunning example of one way this ministry approach was used. You can find the approach illustrated in chapter after chapter of his books where it takes on various shapes, but this one is a dramatic example that really demonstrates the basic power behind it. This chapter entry is called, aptly enough: "The Arrow Driven Deeper." In it, Pastor Spencer is describing one-on-one ministry after preaching to a large crowd. The usual practice back then was for Spencer to preach, (either at his own local fellowship, or at a church gathering somewhere else). When he would finish, people would meet with him in a large room next to the auditorium for personal counseling in what was called an "inquiry meeting." Not all of pastor Spencer's one-on-one ministry took place in inquiry meetings, but the stark example I am about to read, resulted from such a meeting. Please listen carefully as I read, The Arrow Driven Deeper;
"Finding it impossible, on account of the number [of people], to have much conversation with each individual at the inquiry meeting, I at one time abandoned the practice of conversation [in inquiry meetings] for a few weeks, and addressed them all together. I found this was unacceptable, and concluded, therefore, to return to the former custom [of inquiry meetings]. It was on one of those evenings, when about seventy persons were present, and I was passing rapidly from one to another, that I came to an individual who had never been there before.
Said I: 'What is the state of your feelings on the subject of your salvation?'
'I feel," said he, "that I have a very wicked heart.'
'It is a great deal more wicked than you think it,' said I;
and immediately left him, and addressed myself to the next person. I thought no more of it till a few days afterwards, when he came to me with a new song in his mouth. He had found peace with God, as he thought, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Said he: 'I want to tell you how much good you did me. When I told you that I had a very wicked heart, and you answered that it was a great deal more wicked than I thought, and then said nothing more to me, I thought it a most cruel thing. I expected something different. I thought you would say more, and my soul was wonderfully cast down. I did not believe you. I was angry at your treatment. I thought you did not care whether I was ever saved or not; and I did not believe you knew anything about my feelings. But the words rung in my ears,
'A great deal more wicked than you think.'
I could not get rid of them. They were in my mind the last thing when I went to sleep, and the first when I woke. And then I would be vexed at you for not saying something else. But that was the thing which drove me to Christ. I now know it was just what I needed. I thought, when I went to that meeting, my convictions were very deep. But I have found out they were very slight. You hit my case exactly. If you had talked to me, my burden would have been diminished. But you fastened one idea on my mind.
You drove the arrow deeper, when I expected you to do just the contrary; and I could find no relief till I gave up all into the hands of Christ. I know you read my heart exactly.'
After some few minutes conversation with him, he said to me,
'I want to ask you a question. I have been thinking of it a great deal, and I cannot conceive how you know what to say to each one, where there are so many. We have been talking about it some of us, and we cannot understand how it is that you can know our thoughts and feelings, when nobody has told you. How can you know what to say to one after another, when there are so many, and some of them you have never seen before, and they say so little to you?'
'I have only one rule on that subject,' said I.
'I aim to conspire with the Holy Spirit. If I perceive any one truth has impressed the mind, I aim to make its impression deeper; because the Holy Spirit has already made that impression, and I would not diminish it by leading the mind off to something else. If I perceive any error in the individual's mind, I aim to remove it; for I know that the error is of sin, and not of the Holy Spirit.'
'But,' said he, 'our impressions are so different.'
'No matter. They are of the Holy Spirit if truth has made them; and he can choose the kind of truth which is appropriate to any sinner, better than I can. I just aim to conspire with the Holy Spirit.'
Said he, 'I am confident if you had said much to me, or anything, to turn my mind away from that one thing, it would have done me hurt. You have no idea how much you increased my trouble that night. I somehow wanted you to lighten my burden; you made it heavier. Then I was soon led to see that none but God could help me. I had partly begun to think my heart was improving. I found out the contrary, and turned to God in despair. He gave me peace, through Jesus Christ."
(brackets mine. Also, see footnote 1 below)
Bridgeway, there are so many ways to utilize this ministry principle. This is just one; but what an amazing example. Most times pastor Spencer would continue longer with people, and counsel them with Scripture and more dialogue. The story I just shared with you had occurred because pastor Spencer did not have much time to speak at length to each of the 70 people who had gathered to talk to him individually. If he had only spent sixty seconds with each person, he would have spent one hour and ten minutes. Spencer, who was pressed for time, had to, like he said, pass "rapidly from one to another." The point is that he had already preached the word of God. The Holy Spirit's arrow had hit its target through the message. Spencer, because of time restraints, was led to simply press the arrow deeper in a quick, stark, prophetic way, and so in this, we see the principle demonstrated dramatically. We also see the underlying rule that we all do well to learn, and put into practice:
"'I have only one rule on that subject,' said I. 'I aim to conspire with the Holy Spirit. If I perceive any one truth has impressed the mind, I aim to make its impression deeper; because the Holy Spirit has already made that impression, and I would not diminish it by leading the mind off to something else. If I perceive any error in the individual's mind, I aim to remove it; for I know that the error is of sin, and not of the Holy Spirit.'"--I. Spencer
I encourage all of us to consider that there are many ways to minister. This is just one. I urge you not to worry about coming across as condemning. Remember that there is a difference between condemnation and conviction. Condemnation leaves you thinking you are a loser with no hope. Conviction leaves you recognizing you have a problem where repentance and turning to Christ and His way is the solution. Speak softly, and gently, while conspiring with the Spirit by driving His arrow deeper. Speak with the grace and concern of Christ. Such an approach is the essence of Proverbs 25,
"15 By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone." Proverbs 25:15
Remember:
First,
Listen: listen with spiritual ears to the words of conviction and inner recognition of sin of someone God brings to you who opens up to you with what is on their heart.
Second,
Identify: identify the sin, or the problem that they are convicted of that occurs in disobedience to God's word. Is it a biblically based conviction?
Third,
Agree: let the person know that you agree with them that the conviction is a godly conviction (if in fact, it is). You are really agreeing with God.
Fourth,
Speak: in grace, speak forth the pressure that drives the arrow deeper while urging the person to repent. Remember mirror magnification ministry. Conspire with the Spirit, and press down His arrow by explaining, back to the person in a stronger, more penetrating way by affirming and elaborating upon the problem they stated, with the authority of God's word, and the warning of the consequences for their sin.
Faithful are the wounds of friend.
A soft tongue breaks the bone.
Godly sorrow produces repentance. Amen.
(1) A Pastor's Sketches, Ichabod Spencer pp. 152-154, The Arrow Driven Deeper, chp. 22 (XXII) Solid Ground Christian Books, ISBN: 0-9710169-1-7
@1 The things that come out of the ______________ come from the heart. (Matthew 15:17-19)
@2 The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts the world of both __________ and righteousness. (John 16:8)
@3 better is open rebuke than ______________ that is concealed. (Proverbs 27:5-6)
@4 Sorrow that is according to the will of God produces ______________. (2 Corinthians 7:8-12)
