Sometimes We Just Need God To Open A Door...

In church for the last three weeks the topic of the sermon has been “The Gospel Experiment, sharing the gospel with others.”  The bottom line of the message is that if every member of the church would commit to sharing the gospel with at least one person each week, think what we could accomplish in this nation.

Our pastor shared a story that I wanted to share as well.   A pastor friend of his had relayed this story and it was very pertinent to the message this morning:

During his sermon, this pastor had challenged his congregation to share the gospel with at least one person each week as well.  When the invitation came at the end of the service a young man with Down Syndrome came forward and told the pastor “I’m ready to commit to sharing the gospel with someone every week.”  The young man was very well known in the church because of his condition and the pastor thought to himself “If I could only take the heart of this young man and put it into the rest of my congregation….”

A week went by and Sunday came around again.  As he was preaching the pastor saw the young man sitting in the back with another young man next to him.  When the invitation was given, the young man walked to the front of the church with his friend, who was accepting Christ as his savior.  The pastor was busy with another person and the young man and his friend went to the side to another person. 

The following week that same young man sat in church with two other friends on either side of him.  When the invitation was given the young man accompanied his two friends up to the alter.  Both of his friends gave their hearts to God that morning.  The pastor once again was busy with another person and didn’t get a chance to speak with the young man.

The following week the young man brought another friend to the Lord on Sunday morning.  The pastor made a conscious effort to speak with the young man that morning.  He had to know.  He pulled the young man aside and said “You have brought 4 people to the Lord in the last three weeks.  What are you doing?”

The young man answered “You know those tracts we have out there in the entry way?  I took a bunch of them.  Every week I take one to a friend and hand it to him and ask “Would you read this to me?”

Sometimes we only need God to open a door for us.  When we try to open it ourselves we often fail.  But if we ask God to open it for us, the possibilities are endless.