TEXT: 2 Timothy 4:5 - But you watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an Evangelist, fully carry out your ministry. ...
TEXT: 2
Timothy 4:5 - But you watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of
an Evangelist, fully carry out your ministry.
INTRODUCTION: Go!
Evangelism was born with that simple command
from the risen Jesus (Mt.28:19). Our task is well defined: mission
outreach. Our territory is well laid out: the local neighbourhood
to the world at large. Our message is plain: Jesus. And
the needed means are made available: "Lo, I am with you always, to
the close of the age" . God doesn’t want anyone to
perish; He wants as many people as possible to come to a life of peace and
harmony with God. 2Pet.3:9. God has called each of us to be partner in His
redemptive plan, hence we are Jesus hand and feet on earth to continue the work
He had begun. And every Christian should be involved, in some way, in spreading
the gospel of Jesus Christ through evangelism.
WHAT IS EVANGELISM?
1.
Evangelism is the
commitment to or act of publicly preaching of the Gospel with the intention of
spreading the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
2.
Evangelism is the
announcement, proclamation, and/or preaching of the gospel, the good news of
and about Jesus Christ.
WHO IS THE EVANGELIST?
1.
Christians who
specialise in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in
their home communities or living as missionaries in the field, although some
Christian traditions refer to such people as missionaries in either case.
2.
Christian groups who
encourage evangelism are sometimes known as evangelistic or evangelist.
3.
Any person, male or
female, who brings the gospel to others through various means, is an
Evangelist.
WHAT IS EFFECTIVENESS?
---Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result.
For something to be effective ----
1.
It must have an
intended, expected result or outcome.
2.
It must produce a deep
and vivid lasting impression
God has called us not only to be an Evangelist, but
to be effective so that our evangelism can have an intended, expected result
which is winning souls for Christ.
GUIDELINES TO BE AN EFFECTIVE EVANGELIST:
1: BEEN LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT- Acts.16:9-10
Like Paul, we must continually ask the Holy Spirit
to lead us to people whose hearts are ripe and ready for the harvest. Consider
asking the Holy Spirit to lead you to those who are desperately searching for
more in life and will be open to God. Learn to look to the guidance of the Holy
Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to take over the conversation. Know with
confidence God will lead you and give you the right words to say to the right
individuals.
2: BE EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT- Acts.1:8
For you to be an effective Evangelist, reliance on
the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and not your power, intellect, wisdom is very
imperative. Without the Holy Spirit empowerment, you cannot be an effective
Evangelist.
3:BE CONVICTED BY ETERNAL REALITY: (2Pet.2:4, Rev.14:11)
What is your motivation for evangelism? Are you just
doing it because it is the Christian thing to do? Are you doing it to try to
please God by your good works? Are we doing it to try to grow a bigger church?
If we are gripped by a realisation of the fleeting nature of this life and of
the solemn ‘unendingness’ of eternity, we shall be constrained to ‘persuade men’
to be reconciled to God. When God shares His breaking heart with us, we will
share His burden for the lost. We must be absolutely convinced about the
present desperate need of every lost soul and about the future destiny of all
the impenitent. If we believe the testimony of the scriptures concerning the
condition of the unregenerate we shall surely feel drawn to do something for
their salvation. If we are to be effective Evangelist, we will take time to
meditate upon the truth of E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y, and the future destiny of the
saved, and of the lost.
4: ALL- CONSUMING PASSION FOR THE LOST SOUL: Rom.9:1-4, Gal.4:19, Phil.1:8
We find that Paul had an all-consuming passion for
lost souls, especially for his people, his Jewish brothers and sisters. Indeed,
even before Paul's conversion, the Bible says he was full of zeal, persecuting
the church - and after his conversion, he was full of zeal propagating the
gospel and building the church. He was wholehearted in the service of Satan,
and then when God got hold of him he became wholehearted in his service to
Christ. Apostle Paul had passion for lost
souls, no wonder he was an effective Evangelist. Likewise, if we are to be an
effective Evangelist, we must have all consuming passion for the lost soul. Do
we have a passion for lost souls, or have we lost the passion?
5: OUR LOVE FOR THE LOST SOUL MUST NOT BE PRETENTIOUS: (Romans
9:1)
This love of Paul's was no sham, it was no
falseness, it wasn't drummed up emotion for a mission or a campaign, it was a constant
aching pain within his breast that wouldn't leave...
Our love for the lost soul must be the kind of love
Christ had for us to the extent that He surrenders His life for us. (1 John
3:16) Like Apostle Paul and other disciples (1Thess.2:8) our love, our passion
for the lost soul must not be pretentious but rather a genuine love if we are
to be an effective Evangelist
6: OUR AMBITION MUST BE SOUL OF MEN— (Rom.10:1)
What are we really living for? What's your heart's
desire? What's mine? What is our greatest ambition - position, worldly success,
money? There will be a ‘’must’’ in our lives, as there was in His, if our
ambition really is win the lost soul for Christ, we shall be ready to
relinquish secondary things so that the matters of first importance may be
supreme. Only then can we become effective Evangelist.
7:WE MUST HAVE BROKEN SPIRITS WITH WET EYES: (Romans 9:2)
Any Evangelist that wants to be effective must have
great heaviness and continual sorrow in his/her heart. Like Apostle Paul, we
must not be an uncommitted bystander. Why are we not effective as an Evangelist?
Many reasons, but let me give one. Our tearless heart, our dry eyes for the
lost soul is one of the reasons we’ve not been effective Evangelists. Jeremiah
compared his weeping to a fountain of waters, a river of tears. (Jer.4:19,
Jer.14:17) For us to be effective Evangelist, we must have a broken spirit with
wet eyes for the lost soul. All great men and women of God, whoever did a great
work for God were broken spirits with wet eyes.
8: LIVE AN ATTRACTIVE AND CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN LIFE-(2
Cor.3:2, 1Tim.4:12-16)
Remember nobody would be fooled by a so-called
“Christian” trying to sell a life that they themselves weren’t living. The way
to promote and sell Christianity to unregenerate souls is to live it yourself.
Maybe you are the only Bible people around you are reading. If they can’t see
that you are becoming free from sin, that you are becoming full of joy, peace,
humility, kindness, patience, and blessings then why should they want to be a
Christian? Only by living an attractive, consistent Christian life, can we
become an effective Evangelist the Lord wants us to be.
9: SHARE YOUR STORY: (Luke 8:38-39, John 4:39-42)
Many of us want to be effective Evangelist, but
don’t want to share our story. One of the best things you can do to nudge
people towards considering Jesus is to share your own Before & After story.
The story of how Jesus has transformed your life. Your story has incredible
potential. It can be the catalyst the Holy Spirit uses to help your friends
open up to change. To realize that change is possible for them too with Jesus.
Sharing your story is not a new idea. In the
gospels, this happens all the time. People whose lives are changed by Jesus
have a tendency to drop what they’re doing and start spreading the good news.
(Luke 5:29)
You have a very powerful story and God wants to use
it! People will be most compelled by your thoughts and experiences because they
know you. If Jesus is a tangible reality in your life, others will see that and
want it. Your story matters. God has personally invested in you. He wants to
use your story to make His son known. So if truly you want to be an effective
Evangelist, it’s imperative to share your story with people living Christ-less
lives.
10: WE MUST PUT JESUS IN OUR CONVERSATION: (Mk 8:38,Lk 9:26;12:9,2
Tim 4:2)
It’s easy to talk about the people and things that
we love. Think back on some recent conversations you’ve had. How often did
someone recommend a movie, a restaurant, or their favourite website? When we
find something that works for us it’s effortless to invite others to try it
too. So why do we struggle to talk about Jesus?
Think back over your conversations for the past two weeks or skim through
your Facebook statuses. What did you talk about? Is there any mention of God?
Many Christians don’t talk about God with their non-Christian friends on a
regular basis. Look for a natural way to put a reference to God in your
Facebook status. When someone asks you what you did this weekend, talk about
church. Look for an opportunity to tell a story about something God has done
for you. To be an effective Evangelist that God will be proud of, you must do
your utmost best to put God in your conversation
11: IT MUST COST US SOMETHING: (Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were
cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race,
('I could wish', 'that I was accursed from Christ'). What is it costing you to win the lost? Is it
costing you any time, any money, inconvenience? Is it costing food on the
table, sweat from your brow, blood and tears?
You cannot be effective Evangelist if winning lost soul is costing you
nothing. Remember it cost Jesus His life to call you out of the darkness of
this world to His marvelous light. What sacrifice can you make for the lost
soul on behalf of God in order to be effective Evangelist? (Exodus 32:30, 32)
12:PRAYERFULLY PRAY FOR THEM: We
would rise early, we would stay up late pleading for souls. We would fast for
souls. We would bleed for souls. Paul groaned for souls. What are you groaning
about? Oversights and assemblies spend a lot of time, waste a lot of time,
listening to believer's groans - and yet there are millions of souls going to
hell, and very few groaners for them. The disciple's prayer must be stricken
with much crying and many tears for the lost soul. The ministers of Calvary
must supplicate in bloody sweat, and their intercession must often touch the
point of agony. True intercession is sacrifice, a bleeding sacrifice'. One of
the most essential components of evangelism is prayer. You may have loved ones
or friends whom you have been continually praying for years. Do not give up
hope! Prayer is the catalyst that initiates
God's will being done on the earth. So if you truly want the lost soul to be
saved, to have encounter with Christ, go on your knees. Only then can you
become an effective Evangelist that the Lord wants you to be.
13:BE PATIENT AND FAITHFUL: 1 COR. 3:6- I have planted the seed, Apollo’s watered it, but God gave the
increase. For many people evangelism can be very discouraging because they
don’t see immediate results. Though the ultimate goal of all evangelism is to
lead people to Christ, it may not happen overnight. We must remember that only
God knows when the seeds we plant will bear fruit. Our responsibility is to
simply lead them further down the path and bring them closer to finding a
relationship with Jesus and leave the rest to God. Patient and Faithfulness to the task is
expected of us if we are to be effective Evangelist. Nobody who has ever been
converted to Christ has ever been converted by another person. It’s God who
actually draws them to Himself. But you can be a co-worker of God and be a tool
that He can use to bring people to Him. (John 6:44, Gal.6:9)
14: OUR MESSAGE MUST INCLUDE: For
us to be effective evangelist and for our evangelism to have intended result,
we must never be economical with the truth with the lost soul. Clear
understanding of the message must be given at all times to the lost soul. No
compromise.
1.
Warning about
sin-Evangelism includes warning people about sin and the consequences of sin
(Rev.20:11-15)
2.
Explanation of God’s
remedy for sin- gospel (Acts 8:29-35; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Cor.5:21 For our sake
he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.
3.
Clear call to repent: To
turn from sin and to turn toward God, and believe the gospel, by faith (Mark
1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”) (Luke
13:1-5; Acts 17:29-31; Romans 1:17; Romans 10:9-13).
CONCLUSION: The Lord is
counting and depending on you to win soul for Him, to bring people into the
knowledge of Christ. To be His eyes and feet’s in this world to the lost soul.
Christ promises great rewards for those who serve in this way. His recognition
and praise should motivate us to want to become His evangelists, an effective
one for that matter. God has called us not only to be an Evangelist, but to be
effective so that our evangelism can have an intended, expected result which is
winning souls for Christ. You cannot afford to let God down.
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