{"id":2433,"date":"2014-06-12T16:36:02","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T22:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/?p=2433"},"modified":"2016-02-23T09:53:54","modified_gmt":"2016-02-23T16:53:54","slug":"five-ways-to-stand-clear-and-let-god-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/12\/five-ways-to-stand-clear-and-let-god-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Five ways to stand clear and let God work"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stand<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Matt\u2019s* living room was full of people. A mixed group of about a dozen international students plus other men and women from the small college town had been there every Thursday night for the past six weeks. Some had literally never read the Bible before. Others only knew bits and pieces. They had all learned a lot as Matt guided them through the Bible from creation to the cross in a course called Worldview Rethink.<\/p>\n

Now, as the course was nearing its end, Matt desperately wanted each person to trust in Jesus Christ\u2014to believe the gospel and be saved! At the same time he knew it had to be God\u2019s work, not his own efforts to coerce or convince people. (Revelation 7:10)<\/p>\n

Here are five ways Matt let God work in the minds and hearts of those in his group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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1. He taught the Scripture objectively<\/strong><\/h5>\n

From day one of the course, Matt kept the course objective. He would say, \u201cWhat I believe about the Bible is my choice, and what you believe is up to you\u2026 the question is, does the story make sense so far?\u201d It was a gentle, respectful way to help people see what the Bible says. (1 Peter 3:15) It was not unlike Philip\u2019s question to the Ethiopian eunuch when he asked, \u201cDo you understand what you are reading?\u201d (Acts 8:30)<\/p>\n

Matt knew everyone in the group had tracked well up to this point\u2014the story was making sense. What he didn\u2019t know was whether everyone was believing the message or not. That, he had determined, was God\u2019s department\u2013not his.<\/p>\n

2. He used visual aids as a tool for review<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Matt began the last evening of the course with a review of the Bible\u2019s main storyline. He didn\u2019t teach it, though. He simply brought out a visual aid for each account in the Old Testament\u2014a stone altar, the ark, a Passover house, the Tabernacle\u2014items the group had seen earlier in the course. He invited the group to recall whatever they could remember about each item. Excitement rose as each person not only related what they remembered about the Old Testament story but made important connections to Jesus Christ. It was incredible how much they could recall with the help of visual aids right before them.<\/p>\n

Using visual aids as a review tool is a great way to allow the Lord bring truths to mind from Scripture.<\/p>\n

3. He gave opportunity to respond in writing<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Matt then handed out a sheet with four questions and gave them 15-20 minutes to respond:<\/p>\n

A. Based on what you have heard in this course, if you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity?<\/p>\n