In this message I would like to coach you in how to contact people and gain people for the Lord.
We are contacting people all the time. We are in contact with our relatives, our neighbors, our classmates, and our colleagues. The first thing we have to learn in our contact with people is how to discern them, to know them. We have to discern what kind of character and disposition they have. We also should know their mood and temperament at the time we are speaking to them. We need to discern whether they are happy or mad. Sometimes people will try to hide their temperament when they talk to you. If a person is too mad or too excited, it will be difficult to talk to him. This is why we need to discern a person’s situation when we talk with him.
We may realize that certain persons are too proud, too much in their mind, too philosophical, or too emotional. We may realize that others have a strong will and that whatever they think cannot be changed. Whatever they say must be followed. Our proper discernment of people will help us to reach them and have the proper contact with them. We should not let people know that we are discerning them, measuring them, and testing them. We should simply be with them in a normal way.
Although we may know someone’s character, disposition, and situation, we should never try to correct him. If you find out a certain person is emotional with a bad temper, you should be very careful not to touch his temper. If you touch his temper, you are wrong. Always say something, do something, and express something to others in a very natural way, without trying to correct them.
In addition to this, we have to learn how to trust the Lord at the very juncture we are speaking to people. We should pray inwardly, “Lord, here is this person. Lord, what should I do?” While we are praying inwardly, we should simply follow the Lord’s leading to speak something in a very natural way.
This kind of contact with people is altogether in the principle of incarnation. Incarnation is a matter of two natures—the divine nature and the human nature. Incarnation means that these two natures come together and are mingled together. When we contact people, we must practice the principle of incarnation.
The principle of the apostles’ writing of their Epistles was altogether in the principle of incarnation. Romans was written in this way. No doubt, that was a human writing. But this writing was not purely or merely of the man, Paul. Paul was writing with the Spirit. In his Epistles, Paul told us that he was the one writing to the saints. He did not say, “Thus saith the Lord....” This is the thinking of the Pentecostal movement according to the Old Testament way. This is not according to the New Testament principle of incarnation, which we all must practice.
This is why we need much preparation to make ourselves one with the indwelling Triune God. Wherever we are and wherever we go, we should be able to say that we are one with God. Whenever we speak, we should speak in the principle of incarnation. We should not speak to others by ourselves, but we should speak together with our indwelling Lord. It is our speaking, yet the Lord speaks. This is according to what the apostle Paul expressed in 1 Corinthians 7. He gave his opinion (vv. 10, 12, 40), even though he said he did not have the Lord’s commandment (v. 25). Then eventually he said, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God” (v. 40). This shows that he and God the Spirit spoke together. We should always practice this principle.
In the Old Testament the word of Jehovah came upon a prophet (Jer. 1:2; Ezek. 1:3), the prophet being simply the mouthpiece of God. But in the New Testament the Lord becomes one with His apostles, and they become one with Him; thus the two speak together. His word becomes their word, and whatever they utter is His word. This is the principle of incarnation.
Now I would like to mention a few practical points. In contacting people, we should not start our conversation in a particular way. Rather, we should speak in a very common way. Out of our common talk, we can speak something of the Lord to them.
One brother told us that he contacted a person on his job who was a young engineer. He read some notes to this young man out of the Recovery Version concerning the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1. He was hoping that this young man would be attracted by the truth in Matthew 1. But when that young man realized that this brother was meeting in a local church in the Lord’s recovery, he became critical. Also this brother has a neighbor who is a pastor. This pastor also became critical when he found out where this brother was meeting. When you come across rejecting and criticizing cases like these, you should not be disappointed. There are many cases like these.
You have to exercise your patience. You should not argue with others. When someone says something in a negative and contending way, it is best to try to turn the subject to something else in order to calm him down and maintain your friendship with him. You need to look to the Lord for the appropriate time to speak to him about his concerns or misconceptions. The next time you spend with him may be the right time. Of course, before that time, you should pray much. You should pray for the right time to be able to speak to people. Then you can open the talk with them naturally.
If the Lord would arrange for you to have another time with this young engineer, you could change the subject from the genealogy of Christ to the book of Philippians. This young man is a Christian, and he knows today’s situation among the Christians. He is surely seeking after the Lord. Otherwise, he would not be concerned about your situation in the Lord’s recovery. With such a person, you can share Philippians 1:19. This verse is a very sweet word concerning the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This is a pleasant subject and a sweet item. You should not talk with him about the genealogy of Christ. Instead, you should just speak to him about the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
After another period of time you can share Philippians 1:21a with him. Here Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ.” Paul lived Christ so that he could magnify Christ, whether through life or through death (v. 20). This is another sweet word. If you can speak to him every two or three days and show him many pleasant things from the Scriptures, that young man’s heart will be touched and moved.
Through your prayer and speaking, you will win his trust and he might eventually express his concerns to you again about the false rumors he has heard about us. You must learn to be wise. You should not respond by merely saying that these things are false and nonsensical. You could say, “We all know the principle of cause and effect. If there is an effect, there must be some cause. I have been listening to the ministry in the local churches for a long time, and you know that I am not foolish. How could the Lord gain such a result among us with such a rich deposit of the truth? What is the cause?” You should not say anything else to him after this. He might want you to share more with him, but you should wait for another time to speak more. We should not be in a hurry. We should not think that we have to finish our talk to gain a person in one day. A good fisher is always very steady. If a fisherman acts too quickly, he will drive the fish away from him. A good fisherman knows that the more the fish bites at the bait, the more it gets caught.
At another time you may be able to say more. You may say, “In the past month, I shared with you concerning the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ and concerning our living Christ that we might magnify Christ through life or through death. I was a Christian for years and I never heard these truths. I did not realize that these things were in the Bible. The more I listened to the ministry in the church, the more truths in the Bible I discovered. Hundreds of people have had the same experience as I have had.” This is the way to erase the doubts in his mind from the false rumors he has heard.
In principle you should deal in the same way with the pastor. He may ask you if you have a pastor. You may respond by saying that you have many pastors and that you also are a pastor. You may say, “I am working at a job, but I am also a pastor without receiving any pay for it.” Then you may proceed to tell him about the particular new ones or saints whom you have pastored. He may go on to ask how your church is organized and how you raise funds for your church and your work. You should always exercise to answer him in an interesting way. Do not be too quick to get people.
Eventually he might ask you if he can come to a meeting, but you should not respond to this until you feel that the time is ripe for him to come. When you realize that the time is ripe, you may tell him, “Now I will bring you to my meeting, but you have to do me a favor first. Bring me to your church to see your meeting first.” It would be best if you could go to his meeting place two or three times before bringing him to our meeting. Then you can see their practices. This will prepare you to bring him to our meeting. Then you will know how to share with him and direct him to see some things, and he can have a comparison. Such a comparison will be helpful to him. These are illustrations of how we can care for people in ministering Christ to them. We need to apply the principle of incarnation with all the people we contact.