Dr David Gibbs, a man I’ve been listening to a lot in the past 2 months, narrated how, as a young lawyer, he had made several attempts to get his boss saved.
Hear his testimony:
“The first law firm that I worked for, I had a boss named “Tom” – a brilliant lawyer, but he wasn’t saved. My wife (Glorianne) and I decided we would talk to him about getting to know the LORD. We did everything we could to get Tom saved, but nothing worked. Then, the day came that Tom called me into his office and said, “I’m done listening to all your talks on salvation. I want you to zip it. I have drawers full of tracts and books you’ve given me. You and your wife have invited me to dinner 6 times, and I knew it wasn’t to eat food but to preach to me. I’m fed up with it, and I need for you to stop, because if you bring it up one more time I’m going to fire you!”
When I got home and told Glorianne about it, she said, “There’s this special Business Men’s Banquet coming up, and I think we should get him to attend.” Well, I sold the idea of business men coming together over dinner to my boss, and he said to me, “David, I’ll honour this invitation, but, only on one condition, THIS IS IT! After this, NO MORE! Okay?!” I said ‘let’s go first and afterwards we’ll talk.’
Well, we picked him up that night, went for the programme, and it turned out to be a great outing: good food, wonderful fellowship, with some 800 people in attendance. When the time came for the speaker to testify, he got up and said, “I’ve never done this before and I don’t think they should have asked me to do this, and I told them I’m the wrong guy for this.” And, he repeated that three times. Then he got into his notes, and he was all confused. I’ve never seen any speaker as uncoordinated, with total lack of eloquence, like that man.
At a point, I got so pissed off, that I said, ‘GOD, I did my part, I got Tom here; but, look at who You brought!’But, when he had come to the end of his story, he called out to the audience, “If you don’t want to go to hell, and you know GOD ought to put you in hell, raise up your hand!” And, some 400 hands went up, including Tom’s.
Wow! I guess the speaker himself was surprised, so, he said, “Put those hands down. I said if you don’t want to go to hell, and you don’t want GOD to put you there, and you’d like to get into a relationship with Him, RAISE UP YOUR HAND!” And, all the hands went up again. Then, Tom looked at me and said, “David, is this what you’ve been trying to tell me all the while?!” And, I said, “Humm, kinda!”
After the programme, the speaker and I got talking and he told me, “I cried to GOD, ‘IF YOU DON’T HELP ME I HAVE NOTHING!’ They got the wrong man for the job. I was terrified tonight, but GOD took over.” I told him that GOD got the RIGHT man for the job.”
Lots of lessons here:
Good English and well articulated messages don’t get people saved. The HOLY SPIRIT DOES, and He works through yielded/humble vessels.
Pride makes us think we can, but only HUMILITY SECURES GOD’S GRACE that enables us to do extraordinary things. Be HUMBLE.
Be PERSISTENT, and never intimidated, in inviting people to the Household of FAITH or wherever GOD is waiting to ‘apprehend’ them. Do the Work of an Evangelist. Have a wonderful service.
DA