He said to them "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" Mark 16:15
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth" Acts 1:8
What is evangelism? Webster's dictionary says "the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ". What do you picture when you think of evangelism? Do you imagine standing on the street corner and preaching? Or, going overseas on a mission to meet people who may not know Jesus? Does evangelism trigger in your minds preachers on TV asking for your money?
Those images can be intimidating and frightening. There's a certain expectation in our minds when we think of evangelism. Then, come our excuses why we don't make good evangelists. Not being a good speaker, not knowledgeable enough about the bible, embarrassing oneself, being made fun of, getting into trouble, don't know how to pray or where to begin. You know how I know? I've made the same excuses myself. In fact, I am pretty good at coming up with reasons not to do it. Other people can be scary!!!
Look at what Jesus says in Mark 16:15. He says "Go". This is not a suggestion, but a command he gives us. What do we do when commanded? We should listen then. Jesus does not add any qualifiers to his statement. He doesn't say when you are comfortable, or knowledgeable enough, or trained (all of which are good to be). Our own knowledge and abilities are not essential for evangelism. Granted, it makes it easier to do, but not essential. If we wait until we think we are ready then we will never do it. We will always find reasons not to move forward and go. We will never ever be completely ready. That doesn't relieve us of following Jesus' commands.
Look at those who listened and went forward just from the bible. Moses was unsure and needed Aaron to help him speak to Pharaoh. Peter spoke before hew thought on many occasions. Thomas doubted about the risen Jesus. Paul was a Pharisee who helped get many Christians jailed and killed. Mary Magdalene had been demon possessed (Luke 8:2). Noah was a drunkard. There are many prophets in the Old Testament that were flawed people. Look at the book of Judges. Know what? In spite of these many flaws, they went forward when called. And these are the "heroes" of the Bible!!! No better or worse than we are. They went and somehow so can we. Why? Because the Lord provides.
There is a statement I read years ago that has always stayed with me. It is "The Lord will not lead you somewhere where His grace and mercy are insufficient". There is a lot of truth to these words. He's not going to call you into places that will not accomplish His purposes. Why would we want to follow if we are always led into disaster? How would God expect those to follow Him if there were tons of examples of his followers being led into disgrace? It would make no sense. We have many examples of the opposite happening. Not just in the Bible but throughout history. We have many examples of flawed people being led by God down amazing paths. With all of this, we still find ourselves unwilling and/or fearful to evangelize. Why is this?
I think it is that we may have a limited idea of what evangelism is supposed to be. Is evangelism preaching? It can be, but not completely. Is evangelism going overseas on mission trips? Again, it can be - but may be not. How do we preach the gospel to all creation as Jesus commands? With our words and actions with a huge, huge dose of help from God.
Revealing the good news of Jesus is all about following what Jesus did. Jesus preached, he taught, he prayed, and he loved. He talked to people one on one and in large groups. He reached out to others - especially those who felt shunned or were outcast. We are to follow that example.
Is it evangelism when you provide an ear to listen to someone who is hurting? Is it evangelism when providing a helping hand to someone in need? Is it when praying for someone else? Or, helping to serve in a food pantry? They are all fine examples which we can all do. Some of us will be called to preach, to teach, to go overseas. You may get that call as well. We need to broaden our focus as to what true evangelism looks like. It's definitely not what you see on TV asking for your money (maybe in some cases, but you get this caricature).
We all have different brands of evangelism. For me, it's just talking about my life and what God is doing in my life either on this blog or talking to someone. It could be being an expert on a subject or a book of the Bible and teach others. Maybe, you will evangelize by serving others. There's many brands of evangelism all leading to one God.
It's not going to be easy. The stories in the Bible show that to be true. But, nothing worth doing is ever truly easy. We also won't be doing it based on our own strength either. We serve a God that is readily available to us and doesn't abandon us. God has given us a command and a direction. Would be pretty silly not to listen and follow it.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth" Acts 1:8
What is evangelism? Webster's dictionary says "the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ". What do you picture when you think of evangelism? Do you imagine standing on the street corner and preaching? Or, going overseas on a mission to meet people who may not know Jesus? Does evangelism trigger in your minds preachers on TV asking for your money?
Those images can be intimidating and frightening. There's a certain expectation in our minds when we think of evangelism. Then, come our excuses why we don't make good evangelists. Not being a good speaker, not knowledgeable enough about the bible, embarrassing oneself, being made fun of, getting into trouble, don't know how to pray or where to begin. You know how I know? I've made the same excuses myself. In fact, I am pretty good at coming up with reasons not to do it. Other people can be scary!!!
Look at what Jesus says in Mark 16:15. He says "Go". This is not a suggestion, but a command he gives us. What do we do when commanded? We should listen then. Jesus does not add any qualifiers to his statement. He doesn't say when you are comfortable, or knowledgeable enough, or trained (all of which are good to be). Our own knowledge and abilities are not essential for evangelism. Granted, it makes it easier to do, but not essential. If we wait until we think we are ready then we will never do it. We will always find reasons not to move forward and go. We will never ever be completely ready. That doesn't relieve us of following Jesus' commands.
Look at those who listened and went forward just from the bible. Moses was unsure and needed Aaron to help him speak to Pharaoh. Peter spoke before hew thought on many occasions. Thomas doubted about the risen Jesus. Paul was a Pharisee who helped get many Christians jailed and killed. Mary Magdalene had been demon possessed (Luke 8:2). Noah was a drunkard. There are many prophets in the Old Testament that were flawed people. Look at the book of Judges. Know what? In spite of these many flaws, they went forward when called. And these are the "heroes" of the Bible!!! No better or worse than we are. They went and somehow so can we. Why? Because the Lord provides.
There is a statement I read years ago that has always stayed with me. It is "The Lord will not lead you somewhere where His grace and mercy are insufficient". There is a lot of truth to these words. He's not going to call you into places that will not accomplish His purposes. Why would we want to follow if we are always led into disaster? How would God expect those to follow Him if there were tons of examples of his followers being led into disgrace? It would make no sense. We have many examples of the opposite happening. Not just in the Bible but throughout history. We have many examples of flawed people being led by God down amazing paths. With all of this, we still find ourselves unwilling and/or fearful to evangelize. Why is this?
I think it is that we may have a limited idea of what evangelism is supposed to be. Is evangelism preaching? It can be, but not completely. Is evangelism going overseas on mission trips? Again, it can be - but may be not. How do we preach the gospel to all creation as Jesus commands? With our words and actions with a huge, huge dose of help from God.
Revealing the good news of Jesus is all about following what Jesus did. Jesus preached, he taught, he prayed, and he loved. He talked to people one on one and in large groups. He reached out to others - especially those who felt shunned or were outcast. We are to follow that example.
Is it evangelism when you provide an ear to listen to someone who is hurting? Is it evangelism when providing a helping hand to someone in need? Is it when praying for someone else? Or, helping to serve in a food pantry? They are all fine examples which we can all do. Some of us will be called to preach, to teach, to go overseas. You may get that call as well. We need to broaden our focus as to what true evangelism looks like. It's definitely not what you see on TV asking for your money (maybe in some cases, but you get this caricature).
We all have different brands of evangelism. For me, it's just talking about my life and what God is doing in my life either on this blog or talking to someone. It could be being an expert on a subject or a book of the Bible and teach others. Maybe, you will evangelize by serving others. There's many brands of evangelism all leading to one God.
It's not going to be easy. The stories in the Bible show that to be true. But, nothing worth doing is ever truly easy. We also won't be doing it based on our own strength either. We serve a God that is readily available to us and doesn't abandon us. God has given us a command and a direction. Would be pretty silly not to listen and follow it.
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