At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. One day the girl said to her mistress, ‘I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy. 

—2 Kings 5:2–3

Scripture:

2 Kings 5:2-3 

Often the most profound and far-reaching spiritual opportunities are those that happen “behind the scenes.” What’s more, the person who appears to be the main figure in a given situation isn’t always the person God chooses to work through.

One example of this can be found in the book of Nehemiah. King Artaxerxes was obviously the most powerful man in the Persian Empire, ruling over Babylon and much of the Middle East. His word was law. Nehemiah, in contrast, served as the king’s cupbearer. Though his position was several steps down from the ruler of the kingdom, Nehemiah served a vital function—one that kept him always near Artaxerxes. A cupbearer’s job was to taste a drink before the king did to make sure it hadn’t been poisoned. If a drink was poisonous, then that was the end of the cupbearer’s job—and the end of his life for that matter. But the cupbearer did more than sip beverages. Because he spent so much time around the king, he often would become an advisor to the monarch, someone who exerted influence on him. Cupbearer was a very prestigious position in the palace. A cupbearer lived in affluence and influence.

But Nehemiah had another allegiance. He was, after all, an exiled Jew—one who felt passionately about his abandoned homeland. He knew that the walls of Jerusalem had been burned down and were lying in rubble—and that something needed to be done. So, he leveraged his position, at great risk to himself. He asked the king to allow him to return to Jerusalem with a group of fellow exiles to rebuild the walls. He could have lost his life by asking such a thing. But he saw a spiritual opportunity to work behind the scenes to accomplish something meaningful.

Another example can be found in 2 Kings 5. A young Jewish girl, whose name is never mentioned, said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy” (verse 3 NLT). Her master was Naaman, the commander of the Aramean army—one of the towering figures of his day. The young girl was a maid who served Naaman’s wife. She, too, saw a spiritual opportunity to work behind the scenes and seized it. Her subtle suggestion prompted Naaman to seek out the Israelite prophet Elisha. Naaman made the journey to Israel and was healed of his leprosy.

These stories serve as reminders that God can and does use anyone to accomplish His purposes. And though the names of the people He uses may be lost to history, they are never lost to Him. He will faithfully reward all who make themselves available to Him.

Reflection question: How can you make yourself available to God? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ The man replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me?’ And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. 

—Acts 8:30–31 NLT

Scripture:

Acts 8:30-31 

Philip, a leader in the early church, was given a remarkable opportunity to share the gospel. According to Acts 8, he was guided by the Holy Spirit to an Ethiopian official, who was sitting in a chariot, struggling to understand a passage from the book of Isaiah.

“Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ The man replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me?’ And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him” (Acts 8:30–31 NLT).

As you explore the passage further, you’ll find that when Philip shared the gospel with the Ethiopian dignitary, he demonstrated something that’s often lacking in evangelistic efforts, and that’s tact.

Many Christians, when they sense an opportunity to witness to an unbeliever, opt for an all-out blitz. They fire away with everything they have in their spiritual arsenal. They don’t make an effort to engage the people they speak with. They don’t try to establish a dialogue. They don’t bother with building an interpersonal bridge. They simply present their arguments, make their statements, and walk away from the encounter feeling impressed with themselves. Meanwhile, the people they’re talking to are silently wishing they would just stop talking and going away.

Later, the Christian thinks, “Boy, I really blew them out of the water when they said this and that. Wasn’t that great?” No, it wasn’t great. In fact, it was quite foolish, because our job as believers is not to win the argument; it’s to win the soul.

If we want to effectively share the gospel with people, then we need to engage them. What did the master evangelist Jesus do as He talked with the woman at the well in Samaria? He engaged her in conversation. He established some give-and-take. He spoke. He listened. She shared her heart with Him. He revealed the truth to her.

When we share the gospel with people, it must be as a dialogue—and not as a monologue. It’s not just a matter of talking; it’s also a matter of listening. Sharing the gospel involves offering appropriate passages from Scripture and genuine responses from a heart filled with love.

No one will ever be argued into the kingdom of God. No one will come away from an adversarial debate with a believer—after winning or losing—with a desire to “join the other side.” Ultimately, people are going to believe because the Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin. Our job is to simply bring them the essential gospel message in a way that’s compelling, thoughtful, and personal.

Reflection question: How do you use tact when you share the gospel with others? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both. 

—Ecclesiastes 11:6 NLT

Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 11:6 

Here’s something amazing to think about. Saul, who would later become the apostle Paul, was doing the work of God’s kingdom before he was even in it. Remember, Saul was one of the early enemies of the Christian faith. He zealously persecuted believers, which led many to flee their homes and move to distant lands—taking the gospel with them.

Had Saul not been so relentless in his persecution of the church, I think the first-century Christians probably would have been content to stay in their little holy huddle in Jerusalem and never leave town. After all, their situation was almost ideal. God had blessed their evangelism efforts in the city, so there were believers all around. They had no need to leave Jerusalem. But because of Saul’s persecution, Christians were forced to spread out. They took the Good News of Jesus to places where it may not have gone otherwise, or at least not as quickly as it did.

Eventually, of course, Saul stopped persecuting believers and became a believer himself. And I think the person who might have had the greatest influence in bringing about his conversion was Stephen, the church’s first martyr. I believe it could have been Stephen’s bold testimony that threw fuel on Saul’s fire because Saul was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Stephen didn’t have a long ministry. He never wrote a book of the New Testament. But if his only convert was Saul of Tarsus, then his ministry was profoundly successful.

The same goes for your Christian ministry. You may not reach millions with the gospel. You may not reach thousands. You may not reach hundreds. But you may be the person whom God uses to reach someone who will, in turn, change the world. Or it may be a child you raised in the way of the Lord who reaches someone else, who talks to someone else, and eventually shares the gospel with someone like Saul. So, here’s what you need to realize: It’s not over until it’s over.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both” (NLT). You don’t have to know what your spiritual work will yield. All you have to do is seize every opportunity that’s presented to you.

That’s the takeaway from the story of Saul and Stephen. As believers, we need to be faithful in sowing the seed of the Word of God, because we don’t know where that seed will go—in this life, in the next generation, or in the generation after that.

We sow the seed; God takes it from there.

Reflection question: What would sowing the seed of the Word of God look like in your life right now? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie