Persuasion[/caption]Oo-wee, I Want
Have you ever wanted something so badly and wanted it and wanted it until you told a few of your associates about this thing that you wanted? (screened-in porch, sunroom, house with a basement game room, a particular shade and style of sofa that you saw down at the local furniture mart, etc.) And you discover that the very thing that you said you wanted, one or several of your associates had gone out and gotten that very thing. It might have been a situation where some of the ones who had gone out and gotten the very thing they had ridiculed you about when you told them that you wanted it. Of course, when they did, some of those associates explained half-heartedly or sheepishly that they thought about what you had said and realized that it was a good idea.
Realizing What You Have
Uhm humm, well you know what? If I can talk about a material thing to the extent that it causes someone to want it and to leave no stone unturned to get it, then I must have powers of persuasion. Therefore, I am going to use those powers of persuasion where they can do the most good.
That means that since it is obvious that I have been given the ability to persuade people, that could be an effective ministry. Uhm hmm, you see, if I talk about Jesus enough by talking about how He has brought me through so many situations, it is bound to have an impact on who I am talking to. Instead of talking about how nice it would be to sit out on the porch in the cool of a summer's evening in a screened in porch with the gentle summer breeze caressing my face as it blows through or how the shade of the sofa was not aqua and was not teal, but was an intricate, almost indescribable hue (the-you'd-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it hue), I could talk about the unparalleled lovingkindness of my Savior.
How So?
The conversation could go something like this.
Have you ever loved someone so much that you would allow someone to pierce you with a poisoned arrow or spear to save them? Would you really do that to save someone? Is there anyone that you love that much? Uhm hmmm, well, how about a perfect stranger? We know that all people are are fellowmen so would you do that to save your fellowman?
Whoever you were talking to would probably be just like most of us and say something like, "No," or "I don't know about that." And that is a natural response.
But that is not what Jesus did. He knew the agony that was going to be His and yet He died for you and me anyway. Knew that sometimes I would be stubborn and would at times commit sin, but He died for me anyway. That had to be some kind of love!
But, He didn't stop there.
He went on back to glory and He and the Father are preparing a place for me in the eternal city where I can be with Him forever. And get this, God says that, "It has not entered into the hearts of man, the joys that the Lord has prepared for those that love Him."Sinner that I am, He loved me that much.
You know, it kind of grabs you right here (hand over heart) and it makes you think, "If He were willing to do all of that for me, I want to go there and see this place and live with Him forever. I mean what's not to want? Want to walk through the city where the streets are like polished gold, foundations are of the finest gems, water flows from a crystall stream and the tree of life is right there in the midst yielding its fruit forever. I want to go. Oo-wee, I want that!"
What do you think would be the response to a conversation like that?
That's How Badly
That's how badly we ought to use our powers of persuasion because we ought to want an eternal home with Jesus so badly that we talk about it to the extent that somebody wants to go with us. That is the right persuasion.
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