—By MariaMaria #167 DO 2793 4/92

1. A point that is easy to forget when you're out witnessing is that you're doing just as much for the Lord & being just as successful when you're witnessing to people who are not going to receive it in the end, & not going to accept the Lord, as you are when you're witnessing to those who are going to decide to pray with you. The ones who will decide against the Lord in the end need the witness just as much as the ones who are going to decide for Him. Our witness is not just for those who are going to receive the Lord.

2. If we were out there witnessing all day long & the only people who counted were the ones who received the Lord, we wouldn't really be accomplishing much! In many countries where people are so hardened, the majority of people you talk to are not going to get saved. So you shouldn't feel like you're wasting your time & not accomplishing anything because you didn't "hit the jackpot" & win a soul!

3. After struggling all day to witness to so many people & you finally find one person who receives the Lord, is that what makes your whole day worthwhile? Granted, it's wonderful when a soul is saved! "All the Angels in Heaven rejoice" (Luk.15:7), & we do too! But the truth is, even if your whole day is spent witnessing to people who decide against the Lord or who don't take that step to receive Him, you haven't wasted your time, & you need to get out of that kind of mind-set or attitude that you've only accomplished anything if you've won a soul!

4. My goodness! We're accomplishing just as much when we witness to those who don't receive the Lord as when we witness to those who do! Our witness to those who reject the Lord is just as important as our witness to the ones who receive Him. The rejectors have to have the witness just as much because they have to be able to make the choice. The Lord said to "warn the wicked of his wicked way‚" & if you don't, He'll require his blood at your hands. (Eze.3:17-19.) So it's just as important & necessary for us to witness to those who aren't going to make that choice for the Lord as those who are.

5. I know we say a lot of times, "Avoid the devoid" & "Don't cast your pearls before swine," & that's true. If people don't want to hear us, don't want to listen & all they want to do is scorn & mock us, well, then we're not supposed to continue talking to them, at least not for a real long time. They've already made their decision & we are not required to do anything more. If they won't listen to you, then there's not much you can do. But if they listen—& many people do listen—then you're required to give them the Message.

6. There are many people who will listen to you politely & ask you questions & get your answers. Maybe they'll do a little friendly debating with you or arguing, & then in the end say, "No‚ I'm afraid I'm too bad," or, "I still want to have fun," or, "I just don't feel I can right now" & reject the Lord. But it's just as important that you talk to these people & give them the Message as it is to the people who are going to receive Jesus right there on the spot.

7. Of course‚ when you first start talking to them, you don't know if they're going to accept the Lord or not, so you just have to be faithful to witness. But to reflect back on it afterwards & say, "I didn't accomplish anything because I just talked to all these people & then they ended up turning the Lord down; I didn't get any souls, so my whole day was wasted," that is the wrong attitude entirely! Your whole day was not wasted! You did exactly what the Lord wanted you to do: You gave people the Message!

8. You're supposed to witness, & you're supposed to warn! You're supposed to "Go into all the World & preach the Gospel to every creature."—Mark 16:15. Well, what does that mean? We know that not "every creature" is going to receive the Lord! So if we think we're only being obedient & accomplishing anything if we win someone to the Lord, then we're not getting the point of the Great Commission, that says to preach the Gospel to every creature!

9. Most of the "creatures" in the World are not going to receive the Lord, so what are you going to do about that? The Lord says you're supposed to preach it to every one‚ you need to give them the Message, even though He knows the majority of them aren't going to receive it! But His job for you is just what He says, to preach it to everybody you can.—Whether they will receive or not. That's your job! And you're accomplishing just as much, you're being just as obedient, you're being just as successful if you preach the Truth to those who won't receive it as when you find someone who will receive it!

10. Of course, you feel better about it when they receive, & you're happier about it, but it doesn't mean that you've accomplished any more or that you've been more successful. You've accomplished just as much & been just as successful whether you've won any souls or not, because you've been obedient & you've done what the Lord wanted you to do. So you don't have to feel that your day was wasted & that you didn't accomplish anything even if you didn't win any souls.

11. Of course, you might feel a bit sad because you know what these poor people are missing by not receiving the Lord. You see them so sad & lonely & you wonder why they won't just accept the answer to their problems. That does make us sad when we see what they've turned down. But even though it may make us sad, it shouldn't make us feel that we didn't accomplish anything or that we weren't successful, because we were successful, & we did what the Lord wanted us to do! We were obedient.

12. You need to also remember that a lot of these people who didn't receive Jesus with you will receive Him later—you've just planted some seeds! You can't expect to plant the seed & have the plant grow up to full bloom & be in blossom right then & there while you're talking to them! If the seed hasn't been planted before, it may need some time to be watered, to grow & then to be harvested. Maybe in some the seed has already been planted‚ & when you come along you water it, but it's still not quite ready yet. So who knows? It may be a while, but they may yet receive the Lord. You shouldn't jump to conclusions as to what the result will be just because they happen to say no to you.

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family