Make God’s thing, really His thing

My mother had a sermon on cassette tape years ago that featured a pastor going to town on this phrase: "Keep the main thing, the main thing." 

His plain message about keeping God at the center of everything still makes plain sense today.

If we attempt to draw the culture to Jesus Christ merely by social wizardry --  hip slang, the promise of  prosperity or extensive ministry programs -- we run the danger of bringing people to something that isn't really Jesus. We linger at the gates of charlatans.

Don't get me wrong: I'm all for exploiting the tools of the culture to extend our reach to the world, but those methods do not promise success in evangelism. Whatever means we use to talk about God, it is the Holy Spirit who must brood upon a heart and stir it to see all answers in Jesus. 

Oswald Chambers said something about this in his devotional today in My Utmost for His Highest (RBC Ministries' version of today's devotional); his words sealed my thoughts on this blog entry, which I've thought about for several days: 

"The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these, we are to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. Concentrate on God's centre in your preaching, and though your crowd may apparently pay no attention, they can never be the same again."

Comments

[Tami T-B (Safari)]

I love the sentence in your talk on Evangelism. It reads...."Whatever means we use to talk about God, it is the Holy Spirit who must brood upon a heart and stir it to see all answers in Jesus." Yes, this statement speaks to me and is very poetic in its form. I'm reminded that I'm a vessel with gifts, talents, abilities, and experiences so often all my doing is limited, but the Holy Spirit does the real heart work. Thanks for this write-up.