Stephen
Terry, Director
Spirit-Empowered Witnessing
Commentary
for the August 1, 2020 Sabbath School Lesson
"But
when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that
time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the
Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Matthew 10:19-20, NIV
Those who have had the privilege of raising
children know that it is an ominous sign when things get incredibly quiet, and they
then go in search of the children to make sure they are not up to mischief.
While this is a natural parental response that may have saved many a child from
injury or worse, some may wonder why we are so attuned to that quiet witness.
Perhaps it is because children are normally little chatterboxes, eager to "bend
the ear" of anyone willing to listen to them recount their adventures, hopes,
and concerns. This may be because they believe they are important. They matter
and have a place in the world around them. It is only later after they are taught
that sometimes others and what they have to say matter more that they learn to
be silent and circumspect. Not every child succeeds in this transformation, but
those that do not may find life somewhat difficult if they persist in focusing
on themselves to the exclusion of others with alternative experiences and perspectives.
This is a normal aspect of child development. It is
intended to help a child fit in socially and find peer acceptance. The spirit
of the child is expected to conform to expected societal norms. This is not
only for the child who wants to dominate every conversation. It is also for the
child who feels every toy belongs to them. The child is trained to suppress
that grasping and to share the toys. While some may never cease taking from
others, the fact that most do is the foundation that brings general stability
to society. While some may steal bicycles. Most do not. While some may break
into houses. Most do not. The few who have not learned this, perhaps either due
to an organic, mental failing or poor parental guidance, are then presented
with the lesson more forcefully by the legal system when it becomes apparent
intervention is needed.
For some, the military has taken on this role instead.
Children with disparate backgrounds join the service in their late teens, where
more experienced servicemen train them in societal expectations. They learn to
be part of a team with equal performance expectations and equal rights to the
commensurate rewards for living up to and even exceeding those expectations.
Many young people on a self-destructive course have been turned around by a few
years in the military. Perhaps this is why veterans continue to experience a
certain amount of camaraderie even after they have left the service and
embarked on civilian careers. They have a shared experience that those who have
not participated in may never understand, especially if that experience
involved actual warfare.
But how does this impact Christian witnessing? When
a person comes to know Christ, it can be like a childhood experience where they
are just bursting to tell everyone about this wonderful discovery. That is the
Holy Spirit filling their heart with this desire. But this is no longer the
world of childhood. They may be met with the approbation society has for those
who do not submit their will to share their personal experience to the
collective, societal will and are labeled as disruptive to peace and order.
Over time, too many silence their witness, perhaps believing no one will listen
anyway. They decide to settle for the inner peace and harmony they have
discovered and effectually bury their "treasure."[i]
Leading stilted lives, they may find that true peace eludes them because of the
dissonance between their experience and their inability to validate that
experience for themselves and others by sharing it. But it can even be sadder
than that. When we decide it is necessary to bridle the Holy Spirit, we may find
that much of the power of that relationship can be lost as a result, not because
the power is really gone, but because we simply choose not to go there in the first
place.
Years ago, I was following up Bible study interests
with a pastor. We traveled about the city, visiting people who had contacted
the denomination wanting to know more about either the church, the Bible, or
both. We eventually came to a name and address on the list where the pastor,
familiar with the city, said, "That is a locked and secure apartment complex.
We will never get in to follow up on this contact."
I replied, "if this is God's will, he will prepare
the way. We should leave it to him and trust his leading."
When we arrived, the security door was not only unlocked
it was wide open, much to the amazement of the pastor. We had a lovely visit
with the person who had contacted us and did our best to answer her questions. But
perhaps that was not what this visit was about as my partner said that this was
a learning experience for him about trusting God's
leading and walking in the Spirit.
I do not want to mislead and create the impression
that God will override every situation for the one following his leading. I am
reminded of a time I, and another church member went to visit a member who had
requested a visit. When we arrived, her live-in boyfriend met us at the door.
When we shared the reason for our visit, he said she is sick and cannot see
anyone. I suggested we might bow our heads and have a prayer for her recovery.
He said, "I don't believe in prayer!" and slammed the door in our faces. However,
we may not know now, but one day, we may discover that everything unfolded as
it should have. Sometimes, just being there as a willing vessel of the Holy
Spirit is enough of a catalyst to open the way for God to shine in. But if we
are the stifled church, the church that is afraid to be present in person and
in conversation, perhaps because of the reticence we learned from childhood,
who will be the vessel for the Holy Spirit to a world trying to find peace and
hope?
Many people have been wounded mentally, physically,
and spiritually as they have traveled life's road. The country music industry
has made a fortune singing about all the heartaches in life. This is because it
touches a tender spot with so many. Maybe that connection is why many country
artists will produce a gospel disc as part of their repertoire. They recognize
that all the misery needs a cure. They find it for themselves in God and wish
it for others as well. When we stumble and fall in life, the world may say, "You
do not matter enough for us to care. Get up and sort yourself out." But God
says "I care. You are important to me."[ii]
How important are we? We are so important that God will leave the rest behind
to search us out and bring us safely back home to be with the rest.[iii]
The Holy Spirit can gain entrance to places you and I cannot go. He can reach
the lonely, abused child in a home with alcoholic parents. He can reach the
child living in a drug den. He can take those children and set them on a course
to be a blessing to the same society that would have abandoned them to their
fate. I know. I have seen it happen.
Too often, the church, paralyzed by its
self-imposed reluctance to tell its story, fails people like these. But despite
that, defective and feeble as it might be, God still seeks opportunities to use
the church to speak his compassion and love into the world. The Holy Spirit
searches the pews for hearts that might be willing to be vessels of compassion.
If he fails to find even one, he does not give up, and will, if necessary,
search the entire world and arrange for those willing to come together. I have
seen this happen as well. It is amazing when two people, who know nothing about
one another, living on opposite sides of the globe, totally unexpectedly meet
and discover that what was a chance meeting was providential. The chances of
such meetings increase exponentially when we are willing to share with others
our experience with Christ, and they are willing to do the same. Perhaps this
is because God's Spirit is inclusive and not exclusive. God is as near as our
next breath, and he provides that breath to each of us without discrimination.
Our race does not matter. He calls. Our disability does not matter. He calls.
Our culture does not matter. He calls. And he not only calls, he adopts and
empowers.[iv]
Are we then willing to receive the Spirit of
empowerment by opening our hearts to the presence of that Spirit? Are we
willing to let that Spirit remake us into compassionate, caring people by
walking down the path the Spirit leads us on? Are we willing to share those experiences
with others who seek a light to guide them on their journey?[v]
All we need do is open the door.[vi]
