My wife and I were traveling on a plane, as we often do for the ministry. There was a young man sitting next to us who worked for one of the high-tech companies.
Over the next hour, we talked a bit, and I asked him about his business. I could see that he was very bright. He shared some of the details of his work with me.
He then asked, “What do you do?” I responded, “I teach the Bible. I teach about who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.” I left it at that.
I then picked up my book to appear I was not interested in talking any further. After about five minutes, he said, “Well, who does go to heaven and who does go to hell?” I said, “It’s not what most people think. It has nothing to do with being good.” And I left it at that again.
Remember, we’re fishing, and a fisherman has to be patient. I felt the Holy Spirit say, “This guy is really sharp. You can’t just preach to him. Let him draw it out of you.” And so I acted like I wasn’t interested, even though my wife and I were praying for him to be responsive and curious.
After a few more minutes, he asked me another question. He said, “Who does go to heaven? Isn’t a good person going to heaven?” I said, “No. Being good has nothing to do with it. It’s about a relationship.” This occasional question-and-answer sequence went on for three more hours. He eventually drew everything out of me. I was able to share the entire message of salvation with him because of his own interest. Because every person is different, we must use wisdom and discernment in knowing how to communicate with them.
Wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit. If each of us will just listen for the voice of the Spirit, we can win more people for the kingdom of God. If we will exercise the patience of a good fisherman, we may even witness someone express hunger for truth. {eoa}
Bill Wiese is the author of the New York Times bestselling book 23 Minutes In Hell, the story of his life-changing visit to hell in 1998. Bill has since authored six additional books and continues to share his experience around the world. He and his wife, Annette, founded Soul Choice Ministries in late 2006 and have dedicated their lives to reaching the unsaved. For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries, please visit us at https://soulchoiceministries.org/. You can find more of Bill’s teachings at https://www.youtube.com/user/BillWieseTV.
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