UNDERSTANDING EVANGELISM part 3
We learn as we go and do Evangelism
This is where the rubber meets the road - Applying and doing proclaiming and being a follower of Jesus Christ
Things that have been covered
What is Evangelism?
What Evangelism is not.
Evangelism is only about the person and work of Jesus Christ
A (Christian, Disciple, Follower, Evangelist) is a person who knows and speaks about Jesus Christ
The most powerful words that you will ever hear will be the name of Jesus Christ and the most powerful words that you will ever speak will be about the finish work of Jesus Christ
The most powerful words that you will ever share is the message of Jesus Christ
What if the Future of the Gospel message depended on your work while here on earth?
D. L. Moody asked: What will God do with a person who surrenders their entire life in following Jesus Christ? D. L. Moody’s life answered that question.
We talked about Evangelism and your Personality
God changes your heart and not your personality and uses it through your entire life in sharing the message of Jesus Christ in your own way
We looked at the different people God used telling the story about the person of Jesus Christ
Matthew writes about fulfilled prophecy, Mark writes about power and miracles, Luke covers the birth and detailed life of Christ and John writes that the Word became flesh and dwelt among men, John writes these things so that you would believe that Jesus is the Christ and by believing you have Eternal life
We said if you had a 100 people watch a play, teaching, movie and then questioned all of them of what they heard and saw would they all be a little bit different?
Evangelism and the Holy Spirit
When you look back when you share and step out by that leading or unction you see clearly the Holy Spirit working through you, speaking to you and using you to change a life for Eternity
The Holy Spirit is the Teacher, the Power, the Word, the Regenerator, that applies the finished work of Jesus Christ to sinners and makes them a new creation in Christ
This week we are talking about learning as we go and learning as we do Evangelism
Looking at your life, and reflecting back, what you do well?
What do you do well? Did you become better overtime? Yes!
Did you do it well from the beginning or over time? Whatever we do well is usually the same thing we did over and over time and we get better and better
1. We learn how to Read overtime
2. We learn Math over time
3. We learn how to obey Laws over time
4. We learn how to speak about Jesus Christ over time
We learn through life and life is learning everyday, life is an ongoing classroom of learning
Do you remember the 1st scripture that God placed in your heart? Mine was Matthew 6:33 Seek ye 1st the kingdom of God and His righteousness - over 25 years ago
What about you? Do you remember when you knew nothing about God? No Scriptures, No Knowledge, No Peace, No Forgiveness, No Relationship with Him the God and Savior Jesus Christ
So we are learning the Word
So we are Walking with the Lord
So we are loving His Commands
We are learning to Hear and Speak about Jesus Christ
Evangelism is a learning activity because you are dealing with sinners who are all different but all have the same problem which is sin destroying their lives through the me, myself and I choices and desires they make -
Galatians 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
That is for believers and unbelievers - Everyday
So there is an empowering that comes from the Holy Spirit that gives you power over sin and empowers us to walk out the will of God through you by going and doing His perfect will in our lives to affect others.
So you have the Message and through your Personality the Holy Spirit will help you in the going and doing
What’s nice is that you have thousands of people around you everyday to speak to, to shape you and to answer you on how to tell them and love them right where they are
You are being a soul changer
Everyday you are making changes in your life because you are learning and applying from learned wisdom and experiences.
When it gets cold you put on a jacket, when sunny you wear sun glasses, driving your car you put on a seatbelt, etc. wisdom, wisdom, wisdom
1 Peter 3:15 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. 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,
Philemon V.6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.
Now this a loaded verse and gives us information on what happens when we go and do kingdom work.
When we speak about the name which is Jesus and what He has done, the Holy Spirit will always be there to testify of the truth which can forgive and which can save the sinner
Why do we go because we know God is saving souls everyday through the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
John 4:35-36 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
V.37-38 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
I believe and know that in sharing about the person of Jesus Christ something spiritual happens to you, in you and through you, to the hearer before you
The Book of Acts - Shows the Gospel going out in power, saving and changing lives forever
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Your Faith grows as you meditate on the Word concerning Jesus Christ and as you share the living Word of Jesus Christ
What if I place someone who has a gift as a car mechanic in a garage fully equipped with boxes and drawers packed full of tools that have never been used that are all brand new and clean?
How effective would they be on the 1st day? How about the 2nd week? How about in 1 month? How about a year from now?
He has the gifting and he has the tools in all of those boxes, so what does he need to do with them?
Just start using them, he finds out where the tools are, what tool to use for each job, he learns while he is going and doing and using those tools, fixing, removing, replacing and understanding the vehicles that he is working on building experience and skill and knowledge overtime
The believer is the same way - you have all the tools and the boxes and drawers of all the right tools which is the Word of God.
So as the Word of God interacts with believers and unbelievers, the Word of God like the tools are the power to save, change and repair the soul.
The mechanic needs cars to use his gift and the evangelist needs humans to use his gift - The Christian searches out sinners to pass on truth that brings them new life in Jesus Christ.
John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Your message will always be the same to the believer and unbeliever - Why? Because that truth strengthens is the same truth that saves
We never move on from the Gospel but we learn to a greater depth of the power and understanding of the Gospel in Jesus Christ
So as we go and do, your message to church members is a great place to use the Word of God for encouragement to others, building people up in the most holy faith, giving guidance, loving your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Same Word accomplishes both - Always remember that
Psalm 19 - The Word reviving the Soul / Making wise the simple / joy to the heart / giving light to the eyes / enduring forever
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So that the man (or woman) of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work, see the Word shapes you, fills you, tells you, keeps, directs, loves you and gives you all that you will ever need - heaven and earth will pass away but Jesus said that my Word will never cease
Then over time the mechanic has experience to remember, draw on, that will help Him in the future for cars he has never worked on but is better equipped for those hard tasks, and with success behind him his faith grows because of the things that have been accomplished
Then cars that were broken and not running are now back on the street, working as they were designed to work
You are maturing in Word, Thought, and Deed everyday until you die, growing in the Word of God. Remember the mustard seed - growing - Matthew 13:31-32
What about the 4 soils producing 30, 60, 100 fold of what was planted - Mark 4:1-20
Evangelism is a heart test and a maturity test and a vision test and a faith test from the Old Testament through the New Testament till the end.
To understand the Gospel is to understand divine Revelation of God and to have ears to hear and obey and love His commands - My disciples love my commands - John 14:15
MARK 4:23 If anyone has ears to hear let him hear
Remember we do not and cannot save but what we speak saves. Romans 10:14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Jesus says my sheep hear my voice - John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Very important because the world has many voices calling to us but God has 1 voice which is the Holy Spirit - So always be listening because he always speaks in a whisper to our souls - Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
Do you believe every Christian is an Evangelist? Yes or No
What does the scriptures say? All are - 100%
Matthew 28 says to go / not just some but all means all and that is all, all means
Evangelism is life in the purest form…. for the answer to sin
Evangelism is a litmus test for any Church
Evangelism is spiritual exam for all Churches and all Christians
Evangelism is a self test of your understanding of the Gospel
Evangelism is a living truth of a finish work by Jesus Christ defeating sin and death for us because of Him
Evangelism is in the calling you have received - Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
We proclaim what Jesus proclaims - Where O Death is your Victory / Where O Death is your Sting - 1 Corinthians 15:55
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do
John 15:5 - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Every Christian has a boldness that Grace wants to speak about, understand, and assures them and speaks through them
So Lord what do I do?
So Lord where do I go?
So Lord what do I say?
Even your gifting is matured through using the Gift, nobody starts out at the finish line in anything that they do
So we are learning the Word
So we are walking with the Lord
So we are loving His Commands
We are learning to hear and say what He has said
Evangelism alone is the greatest mile marker for a Church and a Christian or follower of Jesus Christ
Because we are obeying, applying, changing and being the Church through that activity
You will speak of Jesus, loving Jesus, wanting others to have the same thing you have which is made alive in Christ
The change occurs in and through you - Grace working out your Salvation
Continue to work out your Salvation with fear and trembling - Philippians 2:12
Ephesians 2:10 Accomplishes the works God has prepared in advance for you to do
Jesus surrounded himself with people that were in great need, we ourselves are surrounded by people that are in serious soul attention and in great need, but we have the answer to all which is the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ
You are surrounded by people whose marriages are not working, people with no vision for life, depressed people because of their own choices, relationships that are broken, and in debt, tired of life, having no peace etc..
But just 1 message meets all the needs of the many because all of the effects is due to sin and the cure is the person of Jesus Christ
Some people can share the Gospel better than others but you will never find a better Gospel!
Jesus message never changed, it was in different situations that the Word changed lives
The Word sets free the captive and you are the evidence of that power
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
You see the Gospel is a one stop shop for changing the heart and everything else will follow
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
As we go and do - we see with faith - we walk by faith and not by sight 2 Corinthians 5:7
We are saved by Grace Alone through Faith Alone by Christ Alone!
Think about how much you know about Jesus Christ?
Think back through your life with Christ and you will see His hand guiding you, blessing you, protecting you, holding you and never letting you go
You see a lot of Evangelism is sharing with people an unbreakable relationship with the living God that you have / That you want them to have and more
The relationship that we cherish more than anything on this earth by far is based on Grace alone because of Christ victory alone, we rejoice in someone else’s finished work, and the better you really know it, you will share it and the hearers will know that you Believe what you say and you live what you preach and you will die for what you Believe
When you encounter an Atheist, What do you say to them?
When you encounter a Jehovah Witness, What do yo say to them?
When you encounter a Mormon, What do you say to them?
When you encounter a Scientologist, What do you say to them?
When you encounter a sinner, a prisoner, an adulterer, an unbeliever, a hater, What do you say to them?
The same message is for all, Just 1 Gospel, The same Word, The same Jesus, The same Grace, The same Power over sin and the Grave.
If you do not believe in God you will believe in anything - is that not true - Romans 1:19-20 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
V.21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
All these people were told by someone else what to believe and has effected their belief so the freeing Gospel that sets the prisoner free will free the lie they believe.
The Gospel goes to where nothing else can go and make a change - a God change - a God life - Reborn, Born Again, 2nd Life because of Jesus Christ
People who are in great darkness and death will see a great light and life in the message of Jesus Christ
The more you proclaim, The more you share, the more you want to share the Greatest story of Grace through the person of Jesus Christ Alone
We need to be convinced that every person you see everyday needs to hear about the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross for them
So asking anyone have you heard what Jesus Christ did for you individually?
If they say yes, then ask what have you heard?
Then do you understand what that means and what was done for you?
They will believe with there heart unto righteousness and new life has come!
Matthew 15:8 Jesus said you honor me with your lips but your hearts are from me
God knows and sees our hearts - we cannot fool Him - God knows all from Eternity past to Eternity future and forever
Life makes no sense without God
Christmas makes not sense, Easter makes no sense, Birthdays make no sense, marriage makes no sense, life makes no sense without God
Mark 4:21-34
We learn as we go and do and say and speak - Stronger, Wiser, More Effective, Loving the sinner, Loving our enemies with compassion by the Power of the Word that live in us
Jesus says that He holds all things together by His Powerful Word Hebrews 1:3
Go, do and tell what God has done for you to all you see and know -
James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Now Go! and Tell! Others! What God has told you about Himself!