|
Hoyte Nelson's Poems/ Reflections & Biblical Essays
|
| Home |
Essay A Witnessing Testimony: Three Old Men “Rescue
the perishing, Care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one, Lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus the mighty to
save.” (Hymn) It
is a Biblical truth that God gives different gifts to His children that His body
might be complete; therefore, every believer has at least one gift. It’s true
then, that not all have the same “gift.” I never felt that I had the gift of
evangelism. My gift is that of a pastor and as a pastor I tried to win souls
along the way. You may also feel that you do not have the gift of evangelism,
but that does not hinder you from sharing your faith. I
want to share with you about three men I knew as a boy, and with whom I shared a
burden. Two were saved in their old age, the other one, I do not know if he was
ever saved. (All have now gone to
their reward). These
three “Old” men: Martin, “Uncle” Morse, and Doc., about whom I will now
give this testimony: All three of these men I knew from a child. Martin was my
oldest brother’s best friend. They “courted” together and attended each
other’s wedding etc. But Martin was not a Christian. I remember, long before I
entered the ministry, going to Martin’s house and pleading with him to put his
trust in Jesus, but he said no. I remember saying to him, “Martin, will anyone
ever come again and share with you as I have tried to do today?” He was
judgmental toward the church; critical toward professing Christians and
seemingly hard hearted toward Christianity. I do not know the number of prayers
prayed for Martin. All I know is that almost forty years later I was asked to
conduct revival services at my home church in Lawrence County, Ms. I believe it
was my first day of the revival that someone asked me if I would go and visit
Martin King. [Martin had recently survived a heart attack]. So
I went to his home and was welcomed with open arms. I asked Martin if he
remembered the time almost forty years ago when I visited him, and he said he
did. I said to him, “Martin, has God spared your life in order to give you
another chance to put your trust in Him?” And so it is that you people at
“New Hope” know “the rest of the story.”
Martin King is with the Lord today. His family has been so expressive of
their appreciation for God’s marvelous grace. I
introduce you to Mr. (Uncle, as he was called) Morse, with whom I often worked
in the fields when I was a young man. We sawed firewood, and did other work.
Uncle Morse could not read or write. He labored hard for bread for his family
until his old body was all bent over and out of shape; he could hardly walk;
yet, he kept working beyond his years. We talked many times across the years
about him becoming a Christian, but he seemed not to understand. He thought, as
many do today, that being good was good enough. We
were in revival at our home church many years ago (I do not remember who was
conducting the services), but I do remember “Uncle” Morse. (This is before I
entered the ministry) I went down to Uncle Morse’s house and shared with him
and the family the gospel. When I again asked him if he would put his trust in
Jesus Christ to be his Savior, he said, “yes.” So I led him in prayer.
[Telling him that I would help him with words], but for him not to repeat them
unless he meant them. And so we prayed for forgiveness. We asked God to come
into his heart to be his Savior. As
we finished, tears were rolling downs those old wrinkled cheeks. We embraced and
wept tears of joy together, along with his family. He came to church that night as he had
promised. He was wearing his old worn overalls. (I was singing in the choir. My
brother Dewey [Buddy] was leading the singing). I had told Buddy that Uncle
Morse was to make his public profession of faith that night, so he extended the
invitation, but Uncle Morse did not come. Finally, I walked out of the choir and
down the isle to where Uncle Morse stood. [The same isle that I had walked as a
junior boy when I made my public profession of faith], and I said to Uncle
Morse, “do you want me to walk with you?” Then he took my hand and we walked
very slowly, as those old worn-out feet could hardly move one step after
another, down to the alter. The choir ceased to sing because they were weeping
for joy, and the angels in heaven rejoiced “before the lamb and the
twenty-four elders” as they welcomed my new brother, in Christ, into the
family of God. Years later, as pastor of a church in Mobile Alabama, I came back
to New Hope and preached his funeral. The fight was over; the victory won! “Doc,”
as I will call him, was not a Christian according to his own testimony. I
remember sharing the gospel with him at his little house where he then lived
alone. After sharing the Scriptures (and making the truths of God’s redeeming
love as plain as I could), he said to me: “Son (I am now the pastor of the
local Baptist church where Doc sometime attended) I have known you all your
life. Your family and my family have been friends all my life (paraphrase), and
you mean a lot to me, but let me tell you my story. (Paraphrase) “In the early
years of my life, God brought conviction to my heart, but I did not respond. I
often held on to the pew; I wanted to go forward, but I refused to heed the
call. Then on a day, I don’t know when, He just left me, and now I cannot, I
cannot…, I cannot say ‘yes,’ for I would be deceiving you and me.’” I
pleaded with Doc to say “yes” to Jesus, but he said he could not. I do not
know if he had crossed the line in unbelief in his rejection of our Lord? I do
not know if he ever turned his life over to Jesus as his Savior. I only hope
that at some point, God intervened…, but I do not know! Let me close by saying to all believers: The fires
can burn low in a Christian’s heart also, and sometimes the compassion for
souls can almost go out completely. The
Bible says, “it is not God’s will that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 Hell-bound souls can be rescued by the
power of the gospel. The Apostle Paul said this, “For
I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1: 16).
Let us all keep the fires burning for God’s glory. Not all have the
gift of evangelism, as such, but God will use our faithfulness as His voice to
bring a lost soul to Christ! Amen! “Be faithful until death, and I will give
you a crown of Life,” promised our Lord! The Apostle Paul says this: “To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are
under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I
might win those who are under the Law;…To the weak I became weak, that I might
win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means
save some” 1 Corinthians 9: 21-22). |