Touching Your Family And Friends Series

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Matthew 7:7-8 (NKJV)

If you have missed an opportunity to talk to your friends and relatives about Jesus ask God to open another opportunity up and see what happens.

Here is another thing you can’t control.

B. You can’t control the FUTURE.

Folks you have no idea – for certain – how someone is going to respond to the Good News until you tell them the Good News. Many times we set the gospel up for failure because we assume no one is going to accept it.

Mark Twain said this: “I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”

Sometimes we approach people with the assumption that they are going to reject what we have to offer. Will people reject the gospel some times – sure they will! Some people rejected Jesus when He was alive. But not everybody! Not every time! We won’t know how a person responds to the Good News until we share the Good News with them and see how they respond.

You may just have the right word at just the right time – but you won’t know it you try. Look at what Proverbs chapter twenty five and verse eleven says:

“A word spoken at the right time is like golden apples on a silver tray.” Proverbs 25:11 (HCSB)

But here is a little deeper fact about the future. Even though the person may not accept the Good News from you today does not mean that your sharing will not have an impact on them tomorrow. Paul wrote about that in first Corinthians chapter three and verse six.

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” 1 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV)

God uses God’s people to bring God’s message to people. There are times when it takes several workers to bring in the harvest. Sometimes all you can do is move a person an inch closer to Christ – but at least that is an inch closer than they were before. Remember:

Inch by inch – life’s a cinch. Yard by yard – life is hard.

Ask the question, “What can I do to bring this person closer to Christ today?” Some times it’s just giving them a pat on the back or a warm smile. Treat them like Jesus would and see what happens.

Here is the third thing you can’t do.

C. You can’t make anyone BELIEVE.

We can scream, we can scheme, we can stalk, we can sermonize but we can not make anyone believe. Believing is a matter of individual choice.

Look at the scripture we just read. “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” 1 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV) Who gives the increase? God does! Who saves people? God does! God is in the life changing business! We don’t change lives – we witness for the One who changes lives. We plant – we water – but God gives the increase. Look at what it says in John chapter three.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6 (KJV)

God who is Spirit brings about spiritual birth – we don’t. We can’t change the past, we can’t control the future, we can’t make anyone believe but there are some things we can do and that is point two: