A Visit with the Joneses

Carol Jones Saint: Hello, hello there, come right in. It's so good to have you arriving for this time of a friendly family visit with all of us here at Home Sweet Home. We have so many friends coming in, and we have guests, so we're just glad that you have arrived.

We have an interesting quote at the beginning of this visit. The only way to lead your loved ones to higher ground is to be on higher ground yourself. Now, you jot that down and then think about it and maybe you can share it with other members of your family. But it's not possible for you to try to get someone else to do something or be something that you are not yourself.

The only way to lead your loved ones to higher ground is to be on higher ground yourself. And in this radio visit that we are sharing with you, we are going to be thinking about some very special thoughts on witnessing and winning. And if you know the Lord yourself, you're anxious to win your loved ones to him.

Bert: Certainly, to know Jesus Christ is to desire to make him known to others. And where could one better begin to be a witness than right at home? There's a big job, a big mission field right at home. If you know Jesus Christ, then I wonder, does everybody at your house know him in that personal way too? Do your loved ones and friends know him also? After all, if you do not take the responsibility of winning your loved ones to Jesus Christ, who is going to do it?

Of course, a Christian has an obligation to tell the good news and to win others to Jesus Christ simply because Jesus told his disciples to go out and win others. But even if Jesus had not given the Great Commission, even if the Lord Jesus Christ had never said to you or me, "Go and win the world," it seems to me that to have met him myself and to have allowed him to change my life is then to say, "Dear Lord, I want everybody else to know thee too."

And so I love this song as it says, "I want you to know him and I want you to love him and I want you to serve him too," because to know him is to love him and to love him is to serve him automatically with real joy.

And so, in this period of family devotions, we're going to be talking about home witnessing and home winning. Witnessing and winning in the home. Home witnessing is difficult. Home winning is difficult. Sometimes it's easier to cross an ocean to win people in Africa than to win your own family to Jesus Christ.

I remember as I've told you before the woman who came to my mother and father one day and she said, "When I was a young girl, a teenager, I was called to be a missionary to go to far-flung places to tell the good news of the gospel. But instead I got married and now I have, I think she said six children at home. So the Lord is leading me to leave my children at home so that I can go to far-off countries to fulfill that promise I made to the Lord long years ago."

Guest (Female): I think some of the terminology today would be that is a real cop-out. It would be easier to leave the six children at home and go to the mission field.

Bert: Well, Mother Jones thought that she was trying to be just a little too good in trying to fulfill her call to the mission field which she had heard in her teenage years. And Mother said, "Listen, my dear friend, if you have six children at home, then you have the biggest mission field in the world. Win all of them to Christ and then maybe yet someday you'll get to go to that far-flung mission field and fulfill your call and your promise to the Lord made years ago."

As we think about home witnessing and home winning, I think it is important for us to remember that it can be done in several ways. Sometimes a home witness is given as a silent witness and sometimes it will be the spoken witness, the spoken word, and sometimes a combination of both. And so as we make it our prayer this hour, "Lord lay some soul upon my heart and win that soul through me," we're going to consider the silent witness and the spoken witness.

First, a few words about the spoken witness. I hope you will testify of your new decision for Jesus Christ. Give a spoken word, a spoken testimony to those at home. Many, many times when people come forward in a service and I have the opportunity to pray with that man or that woman or that young person, I will say, "Now when you go home this morning or tonight, tell the people at your house what Jesus Christ has done for you."

Second, as we're thinking of the spoken witness, tell of the joys of serving Christ. Tell of the peace that has come into your life, the satisfaction that is there that you never knew before. Tell of these positive joys of living for Jesus Christ.

Third, on occasion, it is necessary for you actually to pose the question to ask others to accept Jesus Christ. After all, father, if you don't ask your son to accept Jesus Christ, who's going to? I as the minister or the evangelist may overlook your boy. I may not even notice him.

You need to ask your daughter, "Wouldn't you like to accept Jesus Christ as your savior? Wouldn't you like to be saved?" You see, I as the visiting preacher, the Sunday school teacher of the class, the pastor, may overlook these, so there are times when I believe it is your responsibility to pose the question and actually urge for an invitation.

Ray: Bert, I've noticed that parents have no trouble urging or asking their children to join in various clubs or organizations. I recently was with a family and the father had been asking his married daughter and her husband to join him in an archery club. He was doing some persuading, but he did ask them and they did join him in this archery club. And the same with various lodges. Women ask their daughters to join the lodge or the men ask their sons to join a lodge with them.

Bert: Primarily this is the way these organizations continue as members take an active part in asking others to join.

Carol Jones Saint: And Bert, as you said that there has to be this time when you do ask your son or your daughter, your loved one, I know all of us in the Jones family are grateful that very early Mother and Father did urge specifically. Not just in telling us about Christ, but they did ask specifically during the times of family devotions. Bert, or Ruth, or Ray, wouldn't you like tonight to give your heart to Jesus Christ?

Bert: Very true, Carol, that's so true. All right, we're thinking of the ways in which you can give a spoken witness. The spoken witness of just saying the grace at mealtime is a real witness to your family or of having family Bible reading and prayer.

Now, of course, this depends on where you are in the family. Probably if you're the youngest of seven children, you cannot suddenly force the whole family to have family Bible reading and prayer. But on the other hand, the father or mother in the family certainly has the right to say, "From now on at mealtime we will say the blessing. We will have grace," or, "We will have family Bible reading and prayer." This becomes a great spoken witness in the family group.

Ray: And you can do this even if you have never done it before in your existence.

Bert: Then I'm amazed how many people just totally overlook the idea of inviting their family members to attend special church services, special revival meetings, special musical concerts. Just a simple invitation becomes a spoken witness.

Ray: That's right. When I go to a church, I'm invited to a church to be there for a weekend or maybe just for one service. I often say to the people, "This gives you an excuse to invite somebody else," even as you say, your family members.

Bert: And then I'm thinking of another method of giving a spoken witness: your spoken opinion concerning issues of Christian importance or concerning issues of world importance to which you can attach a Christian emphasis. This, you see, becomes a way in which you can give a spoken witness. You can bear witness on the affairs the world is talking about as you bear a Christian witness.

Carol Jones Saint: Yes, sometimes I know in discussing some of the world things that have been happening, it's easy to say, "My, today you can read your Bible with one hand and the newspaper with the other." And it's just giving a witness right there of your Christian faith.

Bert: And so, having urged you to give your spoken witness in many, many different ways, here are a few cautions. Caution number one: Don't talk or sing all the time. Don't talk or sing or give your testimony all the time. Keep quiet once in a while.

Second: Use tact in your talk. Pray that God will lead you when to speak and when to be silent and do be tactful when you talk. I've known some Christians who ruined their whole Christian testimony with their own loved ones by just the untactful things that they have said.

Another caution: Do not constantly be criticizing the unsaved person. Don't ride that person all the time. Don't ride a hobby all the time. Now I believe there's some women who have turned their husbands away from Christ by constantly criticizing the unsaved loved one. You can turn your children away by constantly criticizing the unsaved child.

Then you have to be careful, don't antagonize through your zeal. I have known a good many salesmen in my life who almost made the sale with me, but they antagonized me near the end through their zeal and through thinking they were going to force me to buy the product. Don't antagonize others through your zeal.

All right, here's another caution about the spoken witness. Be careful that you don't say something that you will later regret. Maybe in talking about the old way of life or the sin of one's life or the past of one's life. You as a relative probably know the past of the relatives in your family better than anybody else, but don't blurt out something about the past that you will later regret and say, "Oh, I wish I hadn't brought that up."

Carol Jones Saint: Or throw something from the past up to that loved one.

Bert: Very true. And then one more word of caution. Don't always talk salvation or religion. Let your loved ones know that you're a normal human being. Have some normal conversations as a human being talking about hobbies and sports and various secular interest in life. Let those loved ones know that being a Christian is a well-rounded life. You don't have to always be talking about salvation or religion to bear a Christian testimony.

Carol Jones Saint: Well, as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, and that was a well-rounded personality.

Bert: And so we'll win them one by one as we do our best to tell others about Jesus Christ.

Carol Jones Saint: Just pausing to let you know that you are enjoying a special time of family devotions at Home Sweet Home. And we hope that these thoughts that we are sharing with you in this particular visit about witnessing and winning your loved ones right at home will be very, very helpful.

It would be such a joy to hear from you if you would take time to write and let us know that the music and the scripture and the thoughts that we're sharing together are of help and blessing to you. When you're writing, the mailing address is Post Office Box 575, Erie, Pennsylvania, 16512. And you can just address your letter to Home Sweet Home or to A Visit with the Joneses.

There are many expenses in a ministry like this. Gifts to the ministry are tax-deductible and when you're writing a check, use the legal name A Visit with the Joneses Incorporated. If you'd like to email, the email address is visitjoneses@aol.com.

Bert: Winning our loved ones to Jesus Christ. The beautiful scriptural basis I want to suggest to you right now is found in John chapter one. Here in John chapter one, we read that John the Baptist brought his followers to Jesus Christ and he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." And two disciples who came with John heard John speak and they followed Jesus.

And then we read these words in John 1 verse 40: "One of the two which heard him speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted the Christ." What a beautiful phrase in scripture, that when Andrew met Jesus Christ, he first findeth his own brother Simon.

Now, of course, we don't hear much about Andrew. we don't know much about the things that Andrew did as a disciple of Jesus Christ. He was one of the lesser-known disciples, but he found his own brother Simon Peter, and the world knows what Simon Peter did in telling others of the cause of Jesus Christ. Think of it, as Andrew found his own brother Simon and led him to Jesus Christ, Andrew also shared in every reward that one day Simon Peter would receive.

Carol Jones Saint: Will you make it your prayer, "Lord lay some soul upon my heart and win that soul through me"?

Bert: But we're not to be talking all the time. Sometimes our best witness at home, especially, is the silent witness, not the spoken witness. And so here are some suggestions for you as you give the silent witness, a very important method of witnessing.

First, be joyful in your spirit. I believe there's just thousands of people who have been turned away from Jesus Christ because of the glum, gloomy attitude of a lot of professing Christians. This could be turned around completely if more Christians would be more joyful in their spirit. Your silent witness can be silent, but your spirit can be a joyful spirit. Let the joy of the Lord be seen from your life.

Second, I hope from your life you will manifest the peace of Jesus Christ that is your portion. As people watching you see that you have a peace that passeth understanding, they are more likely to want to know the Christ who has given you that peace.

Third, as we think of a silent witness, show enthusiasm for your Christian experience. Be enthusiastic about it in your spirit. Fourth, live consistently and uncompromisingly. This is what they'll be watching for. They'll be watching for you to be inconsistent. They'll be expecting you to compromise.

Oh, pray every day, Lord, even as I give a silent witness, may my loved ones say, "This I know, he's true blue through and through." Live consistently and uncompromisingly in your life.

And then make use of the silent witness of Christian literature and maybe plaques on the wall and gospel pictures or gospel radio programs or recordings that you're playing from time to time. You're not preaching sermons, but there is a silent witness day by day.

What a silent witness is that plaque on the wall in the home that says, "Christ is the head of this house, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation." What a silent witness are Christian magazines and Christian books and the Bible as it is seen in the home.

Another silent witness: Show a helpful spirit of love and courtesy and respect. You see, you don't have to be preaching, but just as you show to your loved ones a helpful spirit of love and respect of wanting to help them in the everyday duties of life, it's going to bear a silent witness.

Speaking of silent witness, seventh: Stay at home once in a while with your loved ones. I'm thinking of some families that would be more likely to have been won to Christ if the parents weren't always off gallivanting to a church service somewhere or some great big rally in some distant town.

Carol Jones Saint: That's very true, Bert. That's very important to give that point.

Bert: Stay at home once in a while and let them see your witness as you work with your loved ones. And eighth, by all means, show the spirit of Christ in all you do.

Now here is my word of caution. Don't use the silent witness as an excuse to escape your responsibility as a spoken witness. There's a time to be silent and a time to speak out. Don't compromise in an effort to be silent.

Sometimes you'll have to take your stand, sometimes you will have to speak your peace, but whether it's to be quiet or whether it's to be spoken, may it all be done in the spirit of love. Remember Romans 10:10 says, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

And speaking of Andrew, the scripture says he first findeth his own brother Simon. Is there some brother, some sister, some loved one, some close friend that you should find for Jesus Christ?

Carol Jones Saint: We are so glad that you've taken time from your busy life to stop by and visit at Home Sweet Home. We look forward to the visits, and certainly from your letters, we know that you anxiously await the times when we can have devotions together.

It is our prayer that the thoughts and the music that have been shared in this visit will be of great challenge to you. Each one of us have loved ones and friends and neighbors who need to come to know Christ in a personal way, and we hope that these thoughts have given you some inspiration and challenge as to how you can witness to your loved ones.

Remember you can be such a blessing to us when you write the address, A Visit with the Joneses Incorporated, Post Office Box 575, Erie, Pennsylvania, and the zip code 16512. It would mean so much to receive your check made out to A Visit with the Joneses Incorporated, which will enable us to keep the ministry sending forth the good news. Until the next time, this is Carol on behalf of the family saying goodbye.