Two-Fisted Sermons

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3:15, NIV

Peter Cartwright was a two-fisted preacher on the frontier who wasn’t afraid to leave the pulpit, throw out rabble-rousers, and resume his sermon as though nothing had happened. Once a woman shouted she had a message from God. “I will have none of your messages,” Cartwright thundered. “If God can speak through no better medium than an old, hypocritical, lying woman, I will hear nothing of it.” The woman’s husband flew into a rage, shouting, “Sir, this is my wife, and I will defend her at the risk of my life.” Cartwright replied, “Sir, this is my camp-meeting, and I will maintain the good order of it at the risk of my life.” The ruffians were expelled, and, as Cartwright later wrote, “Our meeting went on prosperously, a great many were converted to God, and the Church was much revived.”

But not many of us are trying to tame the West. While we should speak the Word of God with boldness and be zealous for the Savior, it’s usually best to cultivate a spirit of meekness to accompany our witnessing.

Being winsome helps us win some.

Casual Christians know nothing of spiritual warfare.
Vance Havner