The SEASON of EVANGELISM ! ~ WORK, for the Night is Coming . . . when NO MAN CAN WORK

Is there any way that we can say that we love our neighbor without warning him about the wrath to come and of the option of Salvation through CHRIST JESUS ?

Dear Brethren in CHRIST JESUS: 

What SEASON comes after PENTECOST ?  The High Churches call it the Trinity Season because the HOLY SPIRIT was given to all Followers of JESUS in the waters of HOLY BAPTISM. 

But, it could well be named 

the Season of EVANGELISM !

Here is an ELECTRIFYING Message, a Word to the Church from The LORD, brought to us by a Mennonite Brother  on July 5, 2020 . 

If we profess to be SERIOUS Followers of JESUS CHRIST, It would be well worth our time to read this Word from The LORD  which was given to this Mennonite Brother. 

The Necessity of Evangelism 

by Vinson Miller

Wellspring Mennonite Church, Athens, Tn.

In this message I am going to be discussing evangelism, discipleship, and sharing our faith with those around us. 

I am going to start with talking about WHY we should share our faith. 

Then, I will present a few ideas for how we can be a more INTENTIONAL tool for the building of God’s Kingdom. 

In the last section, I don’t intend for my ideas to be prescriptive of methods that we should be using; but rather, I intend for the ideas that I present to engage your thoughts in how you as an individual, and how we as a church body, can engage in the building of God’s Kingdom in our local area.

 Why should we share our faith?

The first reason that we should share our faith is that it is BIBLICALLY MANDATED.

 

At the end of Matthew 28 it is written: 

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 

"ALL authority in heaven and on earth has been given to ME+."

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

In the great commission Jesus directed his followers to go and make disciples of all nations. While much work has been done in fulfilling this command, there is still much more work to be done. Many more disciples need to be made. 

The church, then,  cannot relax and stop teaching the Gospel. 

In 2 Timothy 4:1-5,  the Apostle Paul wrote to the young leader Timothy:

  I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (ESV)

Timothy was to always be preaching the Word; he was to be ready to do that at all times. 

He was to help others be PREPARED TO MEET JESUS, who will be each person’s Judge. 

There are still many who, if they were to be judged by God right now, would be judged guilty. The Gospel still needs shared.

The second reason that we should be sharing the gospel is out of love. The LORD JESUS tells us in Matthew 5:43-45: 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.

 But I+ say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the sons* of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (KJV)

* [ The Greek text --- with no variations --- states sons, huioi, not children, teknia /tekna .  Ed. note]

 

In Mark 12:28-31, The LORD JESUS instructs us:  

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him,

Which is THE FIRST commandment of all?

 And JESUS answered him,  THE FIRST of all the commandments is,

Hear, O Israel; 

The LORD our GOD is one LORD:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And  THE SECOND is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (KJV )

JESUS said that we are to love God, our neighbors and our enemies. Since loving our neighbors is the second greatest commandment, it would be good to know who JESUS considers to be our neighbor. 

I am going to read the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10: 25-37.

 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

HE+  said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 

And HE+ said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 

JESUS replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 

Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 

And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 

Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”

And JESUS said to him, 

“You go, and do likewise.” (ESV)

JESUS told this story because the lawyer was trying to justify himself by getting JESUS to say exactly who was defined as his neighbor. I doubt that the lawyer was happy with the answer that he got. 

The Samaritans were a people group that were despised by the Jews. They lived in their own area and worshipped on their own mountain. Yet, in this story the Samaritan showed mercy to the hurt Jew. 

JESUS told the lawyer that he should go and prove himself a neighbor in the same way that the Samaritan did to a Jew, a man who quite possibly despised him. 

We are called to be neighbors to all of those around us. Those whom we would naturally call our neighbors, those who are foreigners, and those whom we might be tempted to despise,  are our neighbors.

I would also like to make note of verses 27 and 28:

And he [the Lawyer] answered, 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 

And he [Jesus] said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live. (ESV)

To Jesus, loving one’s neighbor is vital to receiving Eternal Life. Loving our neighbor is a vital part of having Eternal Life.

When we consider what it means to have eternal life, and what it means to be condemned to eternal death, 

. .  .  is there any way that we can say that we love our neighbor without warning him about the wrath to come and of the option of salvation? 

Is not sharing the truth about God, his Kingdom, heaven, and hell, the surest way of showing love to our neighbor?

Revelation 20:11-15 says,

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is THE BOOK OF LIFE: 

and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works

And death and hell were cast into the LAKE of FIRE. This is the Second Death.

And whosoever was not found written in the BOOK OF LIFE was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE. ( KJV )

If  we truly believe in the judgment, if  we believe in eternal hell fire, and if  we love our neighbors, we will attempt to persuade them into seeing the truth.

The third reason that we should share the Gospel is because God wants all to be saved.

The LORD JESUS informs us In John 3:16-18:

For GOD so loved the world, that HE gave His ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON+, 

that whosoever believeth in HIM+ should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

For GOD sent not HIS SON+ into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through HIM+ might be saved.

He that believeth on HIM+ is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON of GOD. (KJV)

And The Apostle Peter states,  Second Peter 3:8-10:

  But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (KJV)

And the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:9-13  affirms:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the LORD JESUS, and shalt believe in thine heart that GOD hath raised HIM+ from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

[ Verse 10:10, Literal Greek: For in (the) heart, HE+ is believed unto Righteousness, but by (the) mouth HE+ is confessed unto Salvation.

Note: Both of those verbs are indicative, present, passive- 3^rd person singular, with NO VARIATIONS in the Greek Text.]

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek:

for the same Lord over all is rich [ is enriching  ] unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (KJV )

God is wanting everybody to be saved. He does not want anybody to be condemned to death. He is waiting to return to earth till more are given the chance to repent.

We should share this desire of God for all to turn to Him+ and be saved.

The fourth reason that we should share our faith is because we are Stewards of the Gospel.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:24-26:

  Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 

of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. (ESV)

The Apostle Paul says that he had a stewardship from God to make the Word of God fully known. In the following few verses, we see that the specific mystery for which he was steward was that salvation was also for the gentiles.

Concerning the resources that we have been given to learn about God, His Kingdom, His will, His Word, we are extraordinarily rich.

We have the scriptures available to us in MANY different versions. We have commentaries. Through technology, we have the amazing ability to search for pretty much any topic surrounding Christianity and hear one or multiple preachers teach on it. 

The amount of material we have available to us is practically endless.

 I believe that we will be held accountable for what we have done with our knowledge of Christ.

We have been given so much for which to be stewards. Good stewardship of the Gospel requires that we receive it in our hearts, and that we pass the Gospel onto others. 

If we let all this build up within us without sharing it, we will be like the servant in Jesus’ parable who buried the one talent that he was given and did not multiply it. 

That servant was cast out into outer darkness away from the presence of his master.

I am going to read a passage out of Ezekiel 33:1-9.

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, 

If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 

He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. 

But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet,

so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, 

but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. 

“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 

If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, 

but his blood 

I will require at your hand. 

But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. (ESV)

We have knowledge of the impending judgment that will fall on the wicked. 

We have the knowledge that the wicked need to turn from evil ways and to repent. 

If we do not share with them the way to repentance, is not the blood of that wicked one on our hands like it is on a watchman’s who does not sound the warning when he should have?

The need for our neighbors to hear the Gospel is great. It is the responsibility of us, who have been entrusted with the Gospel, to go out and share it with those around us.

What does sharing the Gospel looks like?

First, let’s look at a few examples in Scripture of evangelism.

A lot of the examples of evangelism that we have in Acts start out as preaching in public areas. Often this preaching attracted a crowd if there was not already one present.

In Acts 5, where the Apostles were arrested, freed by an angel, taken to trial at which they said, “We must obey God rather than men.” (v29, ESV), the chapter ends with, 

“And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”(ESV). 

So the Apostles were not preaching in their own church building, but rather in the well-established gathering place of  the Temple. 

Throughout Acts, the Apostle Paul and those with him would often start preaching at the synagogue of a certain city. In Philippi they went to the riverside, which was known as a place of prayer. 

In Acts 17:1-4 it says:

 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and  Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 

And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, 

“This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. (ESV)

I believe that this is fairly typical of the way that the Apostle Paul would enter a city. He would find the synagogue, and then spend a period of time persuading those who would hear him that Jesus was the Christ. 

In Athens, the Apostle Paul was taken to the Areopagus, but that was after he had spent time reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and other devout people. 

In Corinth Paul, “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks”. (Acts 18:13 ESV). 

In Ephesus he started teaching in the synagogue, but after three months he withdrew to the hall of Tyrannus to continue making disciples. 

Also in Acts are the stories of the conversions of Cornelius and the Ethiopian. 

These are examples of one-to-one evangelism. 

In both of these stories there is a very visible part that the Holy Spirit played. The Apostle Peter had a vision telling him about Cornelius, and an Angel directly told Phillip to go to the road on which he met the Ethiopian.

 If we Christians were to copy the Apostle Paul’s method of teaching the Gospel, I think we should find something that was similar to the synagogue. 

What do we have today that is the equivalent of the synagogue here where we live? Where is a public place that people regularly come together at to discuss religion? 

I don’t know of any places like that. The festivals that happen in downtown might have some opportunities; could we utilize these more heavily? 

It seems as though a lot of people have switched a significant portion of their socialization from face to face to social media.

 Should we be using social media as a public forum for evangelism?

Many of us interact with quite a number of people just going about our daily business. 

What impact would we have on these individuals if we would actively search for ways to talk about Christ with them, not just when a convenient time comes up, but at nearly all times?

Discipleship

I think that we all would recognize that conversion is just the beginning of following Christ. 

When we find people who are interested in learning more about Christianity, what should the next step be to make them disciples of Christ Jesus ?

 

Should we plan Bible Studies with them on an individual level?

Should they be incorporated into the small groups we have at church?

If I were to talk with some people about Christ, and they seemed interested in learning more, would inviting them to come to our Sunday morning services be helpful in their journey . . . 

or should we have a different meeting that is dedicated to teaching the basics of the faith, baptism, repentance, heaven, and hell? 

Would it be helpful to seekers to have a service where the Gospel is regularly presented?

Could our Brotherhood do something, either corporately or as individuals, to encourage the proclamation of the Gospel here where we live ?  

Could we weekly hold each other accountable for how often we talk about God to our contacts throughout the week?

In closing I will read Romans 10:14-15:

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? 

and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? 

and how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, 

How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (KJV)

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