Top Ten Things You Always Need to Remember About Evangelism

Nothing fires me up like evangelism. By no means is that a commentary on me. That is just what God has put in me. I love to tell the story of Jesus, I love to wrestle through tough questions with skeptics, I love seeing the lights come on when it seems like someone is beginning to understand. Love love love love it.

And I have since 1995. Christ changed me so radically, that I remember praying to God and saying, “I just want to tell everyone about you.” And in an act of magnificent grace, He has given me the opportunity to be in ministry and do just that.

So not only do I get fired up about evangelizing, I get fired up about encouraging God’s people in evangelism. In preparing for last Sunday’s message, I went through some evangelism notes on courses I have taught in the past - 97 pages of notes! All that to say: the sermon could have been much longer!

I am not quite ready to get off the topic just yet. If you are born again, you are Christ’s ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). You represent Jesus, who He is and what He is about, to your family, friends, coworkers, enemies… everyone you come into contact with! And as it is on your heart to be a faithful witness of Jesus Christ, allow me to put a PS on Sunday’s message by sharing some encouraging principles of evangelism:

1. Evangelism is most often a process, not a sudden event. Generally, the Holy Spirit works over time in a person’s life. When someone actually receives the Gospel, there is usually much that precedes that, both in circumstances and other believers. (1 Corinthians 3:1-11)
    
2. Evangelism must begin with a holy lifestyle. 1 Peter 2:12 says Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
   
   The “day of visitation” means the day God shows up to save them! But notice how Peter encourages us to make sure our conduct displays we are authentic followers of Christ, because that is what is going to attract people!
    
3. Evangelism is especially effective when strong relationships are built. I am all for sharing the Gospel with strangers. (I was a stranger to the person who shared the Gospel with me!) However, once a relationship is established based on mutual love and trust, the foundation is laid for that person to really hear what you are wanting to share.
    
4. Apologetics (evidence and reasoning to defend the faith) is critically important in penetrating the skepticism of many people today. Some people have “studied” enough to learn a few “objections” that they believe have no answer. (I have a short list of these, another blog, perhaps?) Learn the answers, respectfully give them, and learn to ask questions of your own!
    
5. Once a person sincerely checks out Christianity, it’s only a matter of time before they’ll discover the truth about God. That is, according to God (Proverbs 2:1-5, Jeremiah 29:13). Be encouraged. God is faithful to make this happen.
    
6. Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit. Again, be encouraged. Your job is to tell the story, God does the heavy lifting as He is the only one that can work on a person’s heart. (John 16:7-11)
    
7. Nobody wants to be your “project”. People can sense your motives. Love people, but don’t make them your “project”, that is, “Getting this guy to go to church is at the top of my bucket list.” Loving someone doesn’t have an end-goal of making them feel obligated to you.
    
8. There is no substitute for prayer. Pray big things. You are not alone in this work, you are partnering with the Almighty Sovereign of the Universe. (James 5:16)
    
9. Many times unchurched people are willing to visit a church if they are invited by a friend. Reminder from Sunday: just invite people. Sometimes, that’s all someone needs is an invite to church. And make sure your Pastor is preaching the Gospel. That’s important.
    
10. The church must objectively examine how they will be perceived by an unchurched visitor – without altering the message! Many people have bad thoughts toward the church in general, whether it is from a previous personal experience or an experience heard about second-hand. The church must be ready to love, welcome, and accommodate everyone who comes through the door - without prejudice or a spirit of judgment.

Many people are intimidated about witnessing to someone. Don't be! Let it be natural and authentic. Pray, love people, and take every opportunity God gives you to encourage someone one step closer to Jesus.

p.s. - Is just a nobody telling everybody about Somebody that can save anybody.

Sometimes the Answer is No

"Sometimes the Answer is No."

Parents, have you ever said that to your kids?

Your child makes a request. “Can I go to Joey‘s house?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“We can’t do that right now.”

“Awwwwwwwwwwwww…!”

“Stop whining. Sometimes the answer is no.”

And then we get frustrated when we ask our heavenly Father for something, and He says no.

Last Sunday we discussed prayer. Prayer moves the hand of God, and we should pray big things. God is never going to be intimidated by a prayer request. And knowing that He is powerful and He loves us certainly gives us plenty of reason to pray.

The burning question, though, we addressed briefly, is this one: “Why doesn‘t He answer sometimes?” Sometimes you pray and pray and fast and pray and fast - and there seems to be no answer. Or the situation even takes a bad turn. The cancer gets worse, the money gets tighter, the marriage is even more strained, the kid are even more rebellious…

This is by no means contradictory to what I said in the sermon or a detraction from Sunday. This is just a reminder. Well, 2 reminders:

1. God is not a vending machine. Prayer is not pressing B5 and getting a Snickers bar. I have seen people’s “faith” shattered because God didn’t give them exactly what they wanted when they thought they should have it, AKA immediately. It's a shame when your "god" is given zero latitude to say no because you have convinced yourself you know what is best.
    
2. God is, however, the most loving and perfect Father ever. He loves us. And He wants to hear from us, and He wants to bless us - but His knowledge is infinitely greater than ours, so His answer may look different than the one you were looking for. But He still answers. And His answer is always better than what we were asking for anyways. It’s like asking for God to remove a thorn, but instead He gives you His strength. 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 says something about that.

Sometimes God doesn’t take away the adversity because He intends to reveal Himself to you through it. And I promise you, looking back on this life from the perspective of heaven, you will fondly recall as your favorite memories of earth the times God’s answer to your distress was His presence.

p.s. - Thanks God for unanswered prayers, just like Garth Brooks

Cut and Paste!

Last Sunday's message was very important to me, and it should be important to you. 

If you missed it, or heard it but completely forgot it, I was sharing from God's Word the mission of the church. Read the end of every Gospel account - none of them end with "And they all lived happily ever after..." or "And then Jesus said, 'Look me up when you get to heaven.'"

They all end with a command, a charge, marching orders... the mission. Actually, the Great Commission. Go make disciples. Jesus gave the church one thing to do, and sometimes it seems like the church just can't get around to it. 

I wanted to cut and paste a couple of portions of the message. Why? Because many of our people were out of town for holiday. And because if we stop focusing on the mission, we will soon be off-mission!

Here is what the Bible says the early church was doing: 

Acts 2:42-47 - And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. 

And if Luke chronicled the activity of the church today, it would look quite different. I suggested it would look like this.

Acts 2:42-47, version 2013 - And they devoted themselves to the cute pep talks and the potlucks, to the secular music to be culturally relevant and the talking about prayers. And indifference came upon every soul, and many creative gimmicks were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and occasionally felt badly for people in need. And they were hoarding their possessions and belongings and closed their ears to the needs of all, as any had need. And occasionally, when absolutely nothing else was going on, attending the temple together and hoping no events were asked to be held in their own homes, they received their food with ungrateful hearts, pretending to bepraising God and having favor with all the people they preferred to be around. And the Lord added to their numberoccasionally those who were being bored. 

God, rekindle the fire in us that the early church had. Passion for the things you are passionate about. On task for one thing: making disciples. 

I also shared the story of the Life Saving Station. I hardly ever use stories like this in a sermon, but it is such a great metaphor for the church:

On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew. 

Some members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as sort of a club. 
Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in this club’s decorations, and there was a miniature lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held. 

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. 

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities, since they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did. 

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown. 

Getting back to the mission - and the why and how - is our focus this month. Come and join us!

p.s. - This mission, if you choose to accept it...

Why I Still Struggle With Doubt

We are spending a whole month talking about “The Joy of Assurance”. This is so important, I wish we had MORE time on the subject. I talk to so many Christians that say things like:

Well, I just hope there is a place for me in heaven.

I am hoping I go into heaven. I guess I’ll find out when I get there.

I just hope I’ve done enough for God to let me into heaven.

-------------Have you heard these? Have you said/thought anything like this?

God WANTS you to be confident in your salvation. 1 John 5:13 says I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (emphasis mine)

God wants you to know, to walk in full confidence. So why do Christians still struggle with this? Take a look at this to prep you for Sunday:

Five Reasons People Lack Assurance of Their Salvation

1 - Some people just do not fully understand the Gospel.

“Security” is the objective truth - the Bible makes it clear that if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, nothing can take that from you! (John 10:28, among many other verses)

“Assurance” is subjective - the confidence that you personally have that you possess salvation.

Assurance can only come when you agree with what God says about the security of your salvation. And that is a clear truth of the Gospel - if you have received Jesus, you are saved. Forever. Sin, guilt, shame, condemnation - history.

2 - Some people just can’t accept forgiveness.

“I am too bad to be saved,” says the person who doesn’t wrap his heart around the love of God in Christ. Some people really struggle with this, because deep down, we know we don’t deserve God’s love.

But OH - to His glory, He gives His love! It’s an act of grace - undeserved, unmerited favor! But instead of listening to what God says, we give our ear to the accuser of the brethren: Satan.

3 - Some struggle with sin so much that they wonder if they have a new nature at all.

If you are in sin, you will not be in assurance. Don’t misunderstand. Sinning does not take your salvation, but it does take your confidence away. It is hard to feel triumphant when we act defeated, even God has pronounced us ultimately triumphant.

4 - Some don’t know the exact time of their salvation.

You have heard the dazzling testimonies. “Yes! At 9:04 PM on April 17, I received Jesus.” That is so cool. But some people don’t remember the exact moment like that. And that causes them to doubt.

I have a missionary friend that was born in a place where they don’t exactly keep birth records. It’s kind of funny - he isn’t sure how old he is. But because he doesn’t know his birthday, does that mean he has doubts as to whether he is even alive?

Some people have been raised in a Christian home, and feel like they have always believed. Don’t downplay it if you were discipled in the home - that’s the way God intends the home to work, anyways.

5 - Some don’t see the hand of God in their trials.

Some people doubt because they go through a hard season and feel like God wasn’t right there with them.

“Where is God when I needed Him? How can I be a Christian?”

But believe it - the strongest proof of salvation is tested faith. You know your faith is legit when you go through trials and come out the other said saying, “Yet I will praise Him!”

Romans 5 and James 1 both teach that trials test, and strengthen, your faith.

So how can you grow in assurance? Join us this Sunday, August 25, at HBC for the answer to that!

p.s. - If you come to Harvest this Sunday, I doubt you will have doubts afterwards