A WORD WITH YOU By Ron Hutchcraft #4880 - "That Wonder-Working Word" 1 Corinthians 2:1-3 Listen to the audio broadcast! http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/ramhurl?p=pnm&f=/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy4880.rm You can learn something from a cab driver, even when his vocabulary is R-rated or maybe even X-rated. This is going to surprise you, but I'm a pretty talkative fellow. I had been making some get-acquainted small talk with this man who was driving me from downtown to the airport and I must have hit some trigger. He started pouring out this racial hatred, and then he started cussing out just about every group you can think of. Then he turned his verbal cannons on the churches; how rich they are, how hypocritical they are. The temperature was rising very quickly in that taxi. The atmosphere was tense; it was angry. I mean, this was a bitter and cynical man. I felt like just retreating into my magazine for the rest of the trip, but I was finally able to get in a few words as we neared the airport. Actually I just mentioned one thing to him, and suddenly the atmosphere was calm and the cabby was smiling. And what was that subject that calmed the storm, you might ask? I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "That Wonder-Working Word." I told this angry man about something some demonstrators had written on a protest sign years ago: "Jesus yes, Christianity no." I said, "Hey, aren't you glad that the real issue in life isn't what Christianity is like? What matters is Jesus." Suddenly the anger and the cynicism were gone - we even had a smile! "Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there's something about that name." Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians 2:1-3. For any of us who have felt the urge or the responsibility to talk about our faith, we can be encouraged by how the great Apostle Paul felt about it. "When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony of God." This has nothing to do with how well you can say it or how much you know. In verse 3, he says, "I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling." Even Paul was nervous and scared when he spoke out for the Lord sometimes. But he did, and you can by knowing where the power really is. 1 Corinthians 2:2 - "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." The secret of sharing your faith effectively is simpler than you might think - stick to Jesus and His cross! Keep bringing the conversation back to Jesus. With all the negativism of that cabby that day, I saw something that I've seen over and over again in hard situations, hostile situations - the power of the name of Jesus! That's why Satan makes it so hard for you to bring up the name of Jesus! When you keep the focus on Jesus rather than on religion or Christianity, so many objections melt away. "Christians are hypocrites." Yes, sometimes. But did Jesus say, "Follow My followers" or "Follow My leaders"? No, He said, "Follow Me." There's only one reason to not be a follower of Christ and that's if you've got some problem with Jesus. Stick to Jesus! Then there's the old objection, "All they care about is money." Was that what Jesus cared about? He's the issue. Born in a borrowed stable, buried in a borrowed tomb, living basically homeless, owning only a robe when He died? The money charge is irrelevant when it comes to Jesus. So, stick to Jesus! We get off on detours about doctrine, church, what Christians do, lifestyle issues. The life-or-death issue is Jesus! And there is so much power in His name and in that cross where He loved us enough to die for your sins. It's all about a relationship, not a religion - a relationship with Jesus Christ. A relationship you may have never begun for yourself and that Jesus is calling your name in your heart right now to come to Him and begin the relationship that can change your life here and change your eternity forever. Would you tell Him you want to belong to Him? And if you tell Him that, I would love to send to you my booklet called Yours For Life. It explains how to begin a personal relationship with Him, and I think it might encourage you in your new beginning. Just let me know you want it. Once you know of the power of the name of Jesus, you'll discover what angels and demons know so well: there is something about that name! If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, and you would like to make sure today, Ron would like to send to you a free copy of the booklet, "Yours for Life: How to Have Life's Most Important Relationship." To read it online, click here: http://www.yoursforlife.net/ OR, to request your free copy of "Yours for Life," click here: http://rhm.gospelcom.net/yours/yflorder.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- Discuss today's "A Word With You," post your comments, or encourage others in our discussion forum! http://forums.gospelcom.net/view/rhm/awwy How can I help support the work of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries? http://rhm.gospelcom.net/support/ To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit YOURS FOR LIFE: HOW TO HAVE LIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP at: http://www.yoursforlife.net Or, call 1-888-NEED HIM. "A Word With You" by Ron Hutchcraft is a daily radio challenge, with slice-of-life illustrations and insights - providing practical help on the issues that matter most. If your local Christian radio station does not air "A Word With You," please let them know how much you value this program. Over six years of transcripts are available online, at http://rhm.gospelcom.net/awwy/ Ron Hutchcraft Ministries is a member of the Gospel Communications Network - http://www.gospelcom.net "A Word With You" is a production of: Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. http://rhm.gospelcom.net/ Email: RHM@... Phone: 1-877-741-1200 Copyright (c) 2005, Ron Hutchcraft. Permission to distribute this material via email, or individual copies, is automatically granted on the condition it will be used for non-commercial purposes, and will not be sold. To reproduce "A Word With You" transcripts in any other format, including Internet websites, written permission is needed from Ron Hutchcraft. Copyright (c) 2005, Ron Hutchcraft. Reprinted with permission. "A Word With You" is a radio outreach of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.