Do you know when to walk away?

[SoSalty]

My 1st post, and Oh! where to begin. 

As a restatement of statements;

[Gotta love forouk on this pg3 referring to Eph 2.  In my reading it's Eph 2 & 3 whereas Paul puts forth all the doctrines of grace in his own words.  Most are in logical order.  Some are double stated and not in logical order.  Eph 1 prepares our hearts for the astounding strength of God's message of Grace in 2 & 3.  Then pg 2 neighbor has a quip about 'predestination.'  kwikphilly then piggybacks on his post  broadening it's theological stance.  Neighbor restates his remark for clarification.

Please forgive my direct remarks, I intend them to only be a positive summary of main points related to OP, that stand out to me. IMO, both slightly varying viewpoints are supported in the bible, just 1 of many paradoxes (not contradiction) within the mystery of God.  So, Romans 10:17 tells us 'Faith by hearing and hearing by the word.'  How can it matter whether we chose and came to Christ; or if Christ chose us before the foundation of the world and we came to Christ when someone else shared the Word, or we witnessed the evidence of the light of Christ in others then sought the Word?  How can it matter if we are in Christ, Christ is in us, we are all within each other, and all united as 1? (message of Eph and thruout the bible)]

This is a much-needed thread for me, my wife, and a friend at this time.  Yes, there are times to walk away.  Thank you everyone here for validation for me, my wife and a friend, having recently, walked away.

Edited November 20, 2024 by SoSalty
improved clarity

[kwikphilly]

47 minutes ago, Sower said:

I had always thought that there are so many out there that need to hear so don't waste  to much time on those who do not have ears to hear. Studying on this some I found out it was a cultural custom back then that the Jewish people would shake the dust off their feet when leaving a Gentile place. They showed in doing this that they were carrying no part of that Gentile world with them, including the dust that might cling to their sandals.  (in the world-not of the world)

I get it that when discussing scripture with unbelievers they may also "planting" seeds of 'possible' doubt into my own understanding that may cling-discourage to my faith, so best to 'shake off' any doubts and move on. Whatsoever things are true-pure-honest-lovely-etc, think on THOSE things.

This to me does not negate followup when it presents itself, nor prayers to the almighty for them. (all things are possible)

I do suggest that anyone who is born from above will have a living desire to share the 'good news,' the most important news to whosoever will. I try not to seek reasons presented by other  to NOT share the gospel, lest I become a pew sitter.

Each of us is used by God for HIS own purposes, not man's. My personality affects my method in sowing the seed, and others use a method their own way. If the seed falls on the soil no matter the sower, and is watered, it will grow. Hopefully the weeds or birds will not remove/kill the seed(light) Some respond to the love of God and the good news more readily.

Some through fears may respond more seriously from hearing the flip side, the bad news of eternal damnation and separation from the love of God. I can not know their heart so I try to listen to my spirit that God works through me. All scripture is beneficial, and more so if God has aligned the sower and the soil to meet.

I encourage other believers to pray for boldness to share the word. Each of us were blessed by some faithful believer in our own past that planted a seed in us. And have the confidence God will take our weakness and use it to link us up to the soil God has prepared for us to sow it in.

Praying to God to encounter someone who needs to hear the good news is a prayer that God will always answer. In his time, in his method.

Thanks kwik, neat topic..

Beautiful said.....I thank you& to God be the Glory

Love, Sis

[kwikphilly]

2 minutes ago, SoSalty said:

My 1st post, and Oh! where to begin. 

As a restatement of statements;

[Gotta love forouk on this pg3 referring to Eph 2.  In my reading it's Eph 2 & 3 whereas Paul puts forth all the doctrines of grace in his own words.  Most are in logical order.  Some are double stated and not in logical order.  Eph 1 prepares our hearts for the astounding strength of God's message of Grace in 2 & 3.  Then pg 2 neighbor has a quip about 'predestination.'  kwikphilly then piggybacks on his post  broadening it's theological stance.  Neighbor restates his remark for clarification.

Please forgive my direct remarks, I intend them to only be a positive summary of main points related to OP, that stand out to me. IMO, both slightly varying viewpoints are both supported in the bible, just 1 of many paradoxes (not contradiction) within the mystery of God.  So, Romans 10:17 tells us 'Faith by hearing and hearing by the word.'  How can it matter whether we chose and came to Christ; or if Christ choose us before the foundation of the world and we came to Christ when someone else shared the Word, or we witnessed the evidence of the light of Christ in others then sought the Word?  How can it matter if we are in Christ, Christ is in us, we are all within each other, and all united as 1? (message of Eph and thruout the bible)]

This is a much-needed thread for me and a friend at this time.  Yes, there are times to walk away.  Thank you everyone here for validation for my wife and I, walking away.

Welcome Again,Brother

So glad you've joined us- indeed,no contradictions-we Give each other Confirmation,affirmation ,edification AND Encouragement

Going about our Father's Business,we need every ounce of Strength from Christ-and sometimes needed to walk away in Obedience as well....

 How often our carnal mind can think" awww,poor thing -let ME try some more"  or " was that too harsh a Word"?..... Listen to His Still Small Voice❤️

Blessings to you and your wife

With love in Christ,Kwik

[Neighbor]

Just to add a little something: "Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary."

Though vain repetition may be unwelcome to God, a consistency in prayer is heard. God answers prayer in His own perfect timing, timed for the Glory of God alone so be patient be confident and rest assured. No need to shake the dust off a prayer for anyone, anyone at all.

As I state so often God answered the prayer of a grandmother (And the guidance of a grandfather) that shared the Bible in deed and word, and preached to me every time she saw me when I was a child.

 They were long dead and I was in early middle age before God abruptly turned me about from my rejection of His existance  to worship of His son Jesus, doing so through the Holy Spirit using an angel to confront me uninvited preaching a seriously challenging manner even threatening me that this was the last time, no more debate now or never.

That angel had a voice and an appearance that I knew, but just couldn't nail down  until more than a year later my own mother sent me a photo of my long deceased grandfather, just a little black and white portrait. I was stunned ,it was that angel and on the back my mother had written thought you might like this.

And then it hit me why I recognized that angel's voice, It was my grandfather's voice of authority, one I always obeyed.

Never give up do as the Lord leads no matter what it costs, for it will cost it seems. And hold on  hold on never let anyone steal your joy in the Lord away nor discourage you from giving your own testimony as a witness to the gospel of Jesus.

Some witnesses are led  to fields where they are kept by God for multiple decades before He moves, and moves perhaps an entire community to seeing Jesus is Lord, God, and savior. It may take a decade or more to even be accepted as a person before then hearing the message God has blessed his own to be sharing  in an unsaved world. 

Thought: How long did Paul preach at the Corinthians?

[farouk]

1 hour ago, SoSalty said:

My 1st post, and Oh! where to begin. 

As a restatement of statements;

[Gotta love forouk on this pg3 referring to Eph 2.  In my reading it's Eph 2 & 3 whereas Paul puts forth all the doctrines of grace in his own words.  Most are in logical order.  Some are double stated and not in logical order.  Eph 1 prepares our hearts for the astounding strength of God's message of Grace in 2 & 3.  Then pg 2 neighbor has a quip about 'predestination.'  kwikphilly then piggybacks on his post  broadening it's theological stance.  Neighbor restates his remark for clarification.

Please forgive my direct remarks, I intend them to only be a positive summary of main points related to OP, that stand out to me. IMO, both slightly varying viewpoints supported in the bible, just 1 of many paradoxes (not contradiction) within the mystery of God.  So, Romans 10:17 tells us 'Faith by hearing and hearing by the word.'  How can it matter whether we chose and came to Christ; or if Christ choose us before the foundation of the world and we came to Christ when someone else shared the Word, or we witnessed the evidence of the light of Christ in others then sought the Word?  How can it matter if we are in Christ, Christ is in us, we are all within each other, and all united as 1? (message of Eph and thruout the bible)]

This is a much-needed thread for me and a friend at this time.  Yes, there are times to walk away.  Thank you everyone here for validation for me, my wife and a friend, having recently, walked away.

Hi @SoSalty As regards Ephesians and its doctrine of the Gospel, if the dire diagnosis is not truly taken to heart, so to speak, then the glorious remedy in the Gospel of God's grace in Christ is less likely to be grasped so deeply.

[Neighbor]

I find myself thinking about three missionaries that  I have known of; one to Iran, one to France, and one to Kenya. The three have at least one common theme that they share, longevity of the task at hand, that being the taking decades to  become accepted and considered worth listening to  at their field  where God  sent them to share of the gospel. And only then gaining hearers that become trained up to take over locally themselves.

Oh  in fact make that four I almost forgot one to Haiti; again it taking decades of tending the field for the grain to germinate and then for there to be a blessing of local residents, native to the lands, to take over the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus.

That's four places, that I know of, where literally an adult  lifetime of effort has gone into establishing trust so that the word would be heard and the Holy Spirit then turn about those that did hear and heed the calling  from the Holy Spirit. 

Just be a "Drive by" presenter of the gospel? Quit? Give up?  Surrender?

 Nuts!

[AnOrangeCat]

On 11/18/2024 at 5:28 AM, kwikphilly said:

Very recently I heard something that reminded me of my own foolishness .....when I see very clearly a hardened heart that rejects the Word of God I sometimes wonder " do I continue to try or do I kick the dust from my shoes"?After all,there's not much worse when you possess a cure,you are holding out your hand to give it away and the sick refuse it- isn't the the Truth?

This is really an important thing. The fact that it was Jesus who made the statement about shaking off the dust and also said not to cast pearls before swine tells us that there's a point at which we've done our due diligence. We did our part and perhaps planted or watered a seed. I think that in general people make it clear when they don't want to hear.

I had a heart to heart with a friend recently while she was grieving. We talked about spiritual things and she wants to believe but finds it hard to do so because she harbors a certain degree of faith in science. The discourse was respectful, and it hurts me a bit because the desire to believe is there. It's just getting choked out by certain elements.

This sort of response is a far cry from someone who responds with mockery or hostility. God can still work on such hearts of course. But I certainly don't believe it's our job to present and present and present to one person time after time and get abused for it.

If you look at the parable of the soil you can see the basic ways most people are going to respond and plan accordingly. Overall I think a good policy is to walk away if you need to, but leave the door open. As long as there's still contact they get to see the testimony of your life in action and know where you stand if they have a change of heart.

[kwikphilly]

27 minutes ago, AnOrangeCat said:

This is really an important thing. The fact that it was Jesus who made the statement about shaking off the dust and also said not to cast pearls before swine tells us that there's a point at which we've done our due diligence. We did our part and perhaps planted or watered a seed. I think that in general people make it clear when they don't want to hear.

I had a heart to heart with a friend recently while she was grieving. We talked about spiritual things and she wants to believe but finds it hard to do so because she harbors a certain degree of faith in science. The discourse was respectful, and it hurts me a bit because the desire to believe is there. It's just getting choked out by certain elements.

This sort of response is a far cry from someone who responds with mockery or hostility. God can still work on such hearts of course. But I certainly don't believe it's our job to present and present and present to one person time after time and get abused for it.

If you look at the parable of the soil you can see the basic ways most people are going to respond and plan accordingly. Overall I think a good policy is to walk away if you need to, but leave the door open. As long as there's still contact they get to see the testimony of your life in action and know where you stand if they have a change of heart.

Oh wow- I'm so glad you mentioned that "friend" with the certain degree of faith in science,this is really what I've experienced personally and what ,to me,is mockery and utter disbelief in the Almighty Sovereign God that Created EVERYTHING and a person out of ,not only dust(or dirt,clay) but the dust HE Created out of nothing at all!That Mighty God is ABLE!

Allow me to elaborate a bit,If I may( probably gonna be long,lol)

Now when we talk about Delivering THE Message- a lot of people immediately picture someone going out into the world and talking what I call Christianese " God So Loved the world...... or "In the beginning..... or" Cast your cares on Him..... repent,repent

We need those,we need ALL laborers- the world needs to Hear the Word..... but more specifically I'm talking about something more akin to your experience with the grieving friend and those " heart to heart " talks

Now,so many tip toe around medical,mental & emotional issues what really are " all manner of sickness and disease"..... my own battles with the spirit of cancer have actually been ,,in some sort of way, a Blessing...an example of God Using evil for good- I,becoming a Living Testimony giving Witness to the Glory of God in Christ- it's a Powerful Testimony---- no Christianese,just "evidence" of walking by Faith and not by sight -  understand what I'm saying?

For years,before,during and after disease I've been out in the streets in outreach Ministry,delivering Bibles ,food and just talking to all walks of life pointing the Way to the Cross....I love talking with the broken,the physically sick & disabled,homeless,alcoholics,addicts,downtrodden and folks diagnosed with mental & emotional disorders.... it's all the same,its what is not " of God".... Jesus took ALL of this unto His Own physical body in our place and our Redeemer Lives

But see,there's a spirit of pride attached to all these things....an " all about ME" symptom and thsts the bondage,the foothold,the stronghold and YES- the faith is in science ( man's FACTS)and it is unbelief in GOD..... Iya is mocking God when a person says" BUT I have cancer" or "BUT I am manic depressive" or " BUT I am gay ,transgender" or WHATEVER.....here I stand before them,living PROOF of man's fact not being God's Truth!They refuse to HEAR because of the " I,ME and MINE" they've accepted and BELIEVE in above all else.....poor me,I cant,you don't understand,you are mean and without compassion for poor unfortunste ME

I'm by no means saying next year I won't be dead or 3yrs from now of lung cancer- BUT my HOPE is in Christ and thsts why I have PEACE thst surpasses ALL understanding ,unspeakable JOY and without 2 nickels to rub together- Prosperity,,a Life More Abundant

So I speak God's Truth- stop feeling sorry for yourself,stop having a pity party,stop claiming what you say you do not want and fix your eyes on Jesus! TRUST GOD.... it's not always easy to hear thst you stand in your own way of a Relstionship with God in Christ but if all you do is look at yourself and pet scans,medical diagnoses and what the world labels you then thsts who you are and what you possess

I never tell anyone " stop taking your meds & come,be Delivered- no but I tell you- there is HOPE in Christ Jesus!Halleluyah,He Will Take you through this,never Leave you,He Loves you- and so on

No- not ME,there is no hope for ME..... and this person claims to be Christian...... that is no Christain I can partake with,I must walk away.... these are "distractions" from the task at hand

I've walked from room to room on the 3rd floor in the hospital,with Jesus Bringing many fellow cancer patients Hope- Joy and the Love of Christ..... I remember one lady,after we spoke about Jesus and His Finished work on the Cross and HOPE,Trust,Faith and she said but you don't understand I have xxx type of cancer,what do you havd--- when I told her what " the Dr's SAY I have" she almost fell out of her bed saying " thsts worse than mine,how are you so happy,so cheerful?" Lol,then,,right then,,she wanted what I have in Christ

I left a woman that looked like the weight of the world was lifted from her shoulders and yet her physical condition was no different but her spiritual condition was- she was Raised from the dead!

Anyway,that's my reminiscing- my little story behind this thread about kicking the dust off our feet- as @Sower has contributed- we want none of that doubt,unbelief or any part of the faithless on us,leave it behind and do not be defiled

With love in Christ,Kwik

 

 

 

[farouk]

Re. the title of the thread, there is a saying:

He who learns to walk away lives to fight another day....

[kwikphilly]

9 hours ago, Neighbor said:

Just to add a little something: "Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary."

Though vain repetition may be unwelcome to God, a consistency in prayer is heard. God answers prayer in His own perfect timing, timed for the Glory of God alone so be patient be confident and rest assured. No need to shake the dust off a prayer for anyone, anyone at all.

As I state so often God answered the prayer of a grandmother (And the guidance of a grandfather) that shared the Bible in deed and word, and preached to me every time she saw me when I was a child.

 They were long dead and I was in early middle age before God abruptly turned me about from my rejection of His existance  to worship of His son Jesus, doing so through the Holy Spirit using an angel to confront me uninvited preaching a seriously challenging manner even threatening me that this was the last time, no more debate now or never.

That angel had a voice and an appearance that I knew, but just couldn't nail down  until more than a year later my own mother sent me a photo of my long deceased grandfather, just a little black and white portrait. I was stunned ,it was that angel and on the back my mother had written thought you might like this.

And then it hit me why I recognized that angel's voice, It was my grandfather's voice of authority, one I always obeyed.

Never give up do as the Lord leads no matter what it costs, for it will cost it seems. And hold on  hold on never let anyone steal your joy in the Lord away nor discourage you from giving your own testimony as a witness to the gospel of Jesus.

Some witnesses are led  to fields where they are kept by God for multiple decades before He moves, and moves perhaps an entire community to seeing Jesus is Lord, God, and savior. It may take a decade or more to even be accepted as a person before then hearing the message God has blessed his own to be sharing  in an unsaved world. 

Thought: How long did Paul preach at the Corinthians?

I think you might be on a slightly different theme here,which of course is all good but let me just make sure that this Topic is never insinuating that anyone should ever shake the dust off a prayer or stop praying for any unbeliever- no not ever,however I am saying,,emphatically "we" as individual Laborers and Messengers must know when to not partake and stay longer than when you've completed the task at hand.... we have "Assignments " we are not assigned to everyone for all time- there is a time,for a time in God's Time

Perhaps my post above will help clarify the Topic- the beating of a " dead" horse

Also,never implying that "dead horse" will not come Alive in Christ after you've moved on- we pray they have a " yet" to come - we,personally are finished and so we walk away- praying without chasing

Love you Brother,Kwik