BOOK 8 A Gift, A Call, Or A Commission: Are All Christians Commanded To Evangelise?

A SAMPLE OF ENDORESMENTS The following are some of the endorsements for Julian’s 900+ page book called Evangelism: Strategies from Heaven In the War for Souls. Some people are daunted by such a big book so Julian made a small book out of each chapter of the 900+ page book. What you are about to read is just one of the chapters of the larger work.

David Cole, YWAM Campaigns Asia/Pacific Board of Regents Chairman University of the Nations.

“This book is one of the most in depth looks at what Evangelism really is (and what it isn’t) that I believe has been written in the last century. I have been so inspired in my own calling through its content and often use it as a text book for teaching and imparting to young leaders in YWAM training courses as well as throughout other parts of the Body of Christ. Thank you Julian not only for such a valuable resource as well as for modeling the outworking of its content in your own life over the past few decades.”

Pastor Mike Smith, Melbourne, Australia

“An incredible book that all pastors should read. I have been a Christian for 28 years and a pastor for many years, and when I picked up this book, I thought, I doubt this will teach me anything new about evangelism. I was so wrong. It has revolutionised my thinking.

This is an incredible book that all pastors should read.”

Grant Buchanan LLB, B.Com, Auckland

“The best book I have ever read.

I am a solicitor (54) and a partner in a law practice.

I unhesitatingly give my endorsement for Julian s book.

Indeed, I would rate it as the best book that I have ever read!”

Grant Buchanan LLB, B.Com, Auckland

Michael Angulo, Pastor and Church Leader

“Truly a work of Ministerial art. I really like this book and every true evangelist will love it also. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PUT IT DOWN, BUT WILL BE THINKING WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO READ IT AGAIN! A truly very well written book with good retrospective learning ideas. No true evangelist should be without this book. It is worth what it is worth and it will catapult you into great, deliberate PROVEN, ministry approach. Great book and I highly recommend it. Get this one, you won’t be disappointed!”

Julian Batchelor, M.ed (Hons), B.Th, Dip.T’Ching

A Gift, A Call, Or A Commission: Are All Christians Commanded To Evangelise?

Copyright Julian Batchelor Evangelism Strategies International Press Auckland New Zealand

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Acknowledgements I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people for the production of this Mini Series: Sheryl Kampenhout, who transferred a mountain of material from Power Point shows into Word documents and who served and encouraged me in such a loving and kind way; to Matthew Old, a faithful friend and fellow evangelist, who has been a Barnabas. He reached out his hands when the hills seemed steepest, loved me in spite of my failures, stimulated me with his sharp mind, and made me laugh when I wanted to cry; to Janice Teo, and her intercessory prayer team who are as vital to the ministry I direct as the heart is to the body; to the team of editors, including Ken Francis and Julie Belding; to all the financial supporters who have given so generously to me over the years. I especially want to thank Paul and Tina Richards, of Club Physical, owners of a gymnasium chain in Auckland, New Zealand, and Derek van Beynen, who have faithfully sponsored my ministry for over a decade. Few people have the privilege of being able to leave secular work to write and produce resources to further the cause of the evangelisation of the world, and to motivate and equip the Church to do the same. You, and all my other financial supporters, have made this possible; to those I live with who have not seen me for years because I have been locked away in my office writing, I give my sincere thanks. Special thanks to Neil Pollock. To Jenny Windeyer, the graphic artist, who designed the cover of the original 800 page book (which we’ve turned into this Mini Series), and to Jenny’s husband Drew for going beyond the call of duty so that Jenny could focus on this project; to faithful Bernie Anderson who has sacrificed and given way beyond what a leader would expect of a dedicated co-worker; to Eleanor Goodall and Sue and George Jeffrey who epitomise love and true friendship; to the team at ESI for keeping all the various aspects of the evangelism ministry moving forwards whilst I directed most of my time to write this Mini Book Series; for Dr Martyn Bowis who did all the programming for the electronic version of the gospel called “Proclaim it!”; for Henoch Kloosterboeror for producing all the brilliant

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drawings; Dr David Stewart, retired Principal of the Bible College of New Zealand for nearly two decades of encouragement and mentoring; Denise James and Anne Bartley, staff at the Bible College of New Zealand for helping with research; all those who have helped proof read the manuscript and given comment, particularly Dr Marie Sewell, Gill Donald, Gill Lukey, Donna Hansen, Ainslie Vines, Ann Hunter, and Miriam and Ted Martin; to the academic staff of the Bible College of New Zealand for giving me a grounding in theology; for all those who have given financially and sacrificially to pay for specific aspects of the publishing of this Mini Book Series; for my friend Ray Comfort, for his inspiration and encouragement.

There are few evangelists today who have journeyed on the road of trial and tribulation to achieve breakthrough as Ray Comfort. For John Stott, the academic evangelist for his coaching and input via his many books.

For all the people who we have trained in evangelism around the world who are out there doing it – you are the heroes in the battle for souls; for the many hundreds of pastors, leaders, and lay Christians around the globe who have contributed to my life as a Christian, and to this Mini Book Series; and finally, I thank Jesus Christ, whose amazing grace and love has inspired and kept me. All the revelations in this Mini Book Library about evangelism and the gospel were given by Him – to Him be all the glory..

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How To Read The Mini Books In This Library This Mini Book is one of a Library of 27 Mini Books. The Library is a detailed critique of the battle between light and darkness which is relentlessly raging all over the earth for the souls of men and women.

The insights and revelations in each Mini Book are hierarchical i.e.

Mini Book Two builds upon Mini Book One, Mini Book Three upon Mini Books One and Two, and so on. Hence, the ideal is to try and read all the Mini Books in the library in sequence. If you skip Mini Books, or even parts of Mini Books, you might miss something vital, and open yourself to misunderstanding or even defeat.

Having said this, after you have read Mini Books One to Seven, which are the foundational books in the Library, each Mini Book is designed to stand alone. So, read Books One to Seven first. This is essential.

With respect to evangelism, if you follow the advice I am giving here in the pages of each Mini Book, you’ll position yourself perfectly to be used by the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus in ways you’d not imagined possible. How so? Read the 27 Mini Books in the library and find out.

Along with Mini Books 1-7, I suggest you also purchase Mini Book 27, which is the “Evangelism Fitness Test.” This is a diagnostic survey which will tell you the extent to which you have been unwittingly influenced by the devil with respect to evangelism. Sit this test before you read anything. Then do the same test again after you have read all the Mini Books to check to see if all his devices have been thoroughly purged from your mind!

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A Gift, A Call, Or A Commission: Are All Christians Commanded To Evangelise?

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eally, the question in the title of the Mini Book is oxymoronic for any genuine follower of Jesus Christ. Let me explain what I mean. The dictionary defines an oxymoron in this way: “An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two seemingly opposing and contradictory elements are juxtaposed.”

When one sees some Christians pouring over the Scriptures to look for verses and angles to justify not doing evangelism, isn’t that oxymoronic? Yes, it is. Over my 35 years as an evangelist, I have met many people like this. They are highly motivated to find ways to justify not doing evangelism. That is to say, they seem driven to justify keeping quiet about the Person and Work of the one who has changed the entire direction of not just their life on earth, but their eternity. Wouldn’t all genuine disciples earnestly want all those outside of Christ to have the experience which they themselves have experienced? You’d think so, but it seems that 98% of Christians want to avoid communicating the very message ordained by God to bring this about. Tragically, there are lots of ‘anti-evangelism’ people out there in our churches. The devil has worked hard with his devices to work through them to shut down evangelism in the 7

Western Church. Actually, I met one such person recently when she visited my home. he had been on an assignment working for an international aid organisation and it wasn’t long before we started talking about evangelism. I showed her the video of the gospel which you can see at www.biblein11.com. I encouraged her to load it onto her phone and use it on her travels.

Alice: “Julian, I could never go around giving people the gospel like you do. It’s just not me.”

Me: (very gently) “Why do you think it is just not you?”

Alice: (a little defensively) “I would feel very awkward doing it.

We all have different gifts, you know. You are good at this kind of thing and God has designed you to do it. You have the personality and I don’t. I am not that kind of person. I am better at just getting alongside people and befriending them. I have more of a relational evangelism style…you know…friendly and relaxed. I don’t like being pushy. I have found that people are attracted to who I am, not what I say… I have found that love is what attracts people…so I wait for people to ask me about my faith before I share the gospel with them.”

Me: “I agree with you that being loving, relational, friendly and kind is all good. But don’t you think that all the other people of other religions, and even people who are not religious at all, can be nice and loving? What would make you different from all of them in the eyes of people you are working with? Surely, in all the relationships you are building, there must come a time when you know you should get to the nitty gritty and…well…explain what you are really on about…explan the gospel? Otherwise you’ll just leave people guessing about what makes you so nice! Also, Jesus did not say ‘Go into all the world and wait for people to ask you about your faith” which is passive. Rather He said “Go and proclaim” which is proactive. Geniune believers take the initiative. They make things

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happen, just like Jesus did. Jesus didn’t wait for the Pharisees and Saducees to come to Him and say ‘Tell us about who you are and why you came.’ No. Jesus took the intiative. He made situations happen. For Him, his faith was never passive.”

Alice: “Don’t get me wrong Julian. I talk about God with people But I don’t give them a presentation like you do. I sort of drip feed in bits and pieces about Christianity over a long period of time, maybe over dozens of conversations…often I don’t talk about God at all… only when it comes up naturally…yep, that’s pretty much how I do it.”

Me: “How do you know the people you talk to are putting all the ‘bits and pieces’ you are giving over time together and making complete sense out of it? And how do you know all the bits and pieces are the gospel? What happens if you just tell them one or two bits and never see them again, and they never get to hear the gospel? What if the bit you gave them, on its own, might lead them astray? A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

I met someone the other day who told me she was going to heaven because a Christian had told her ‘God loves everyone.’

She assumed from this that she was right with God and there was nothing for her to do in her life about God. She expected a loving God would be ready to meet her the other side of death. Yet when I took her through the gospel she was shocked to find out she was headed straight for hell.

Wouldn’t it be best to try and give the whole gospel in one go to those you meet, when the time and place is right, and take the discussion from there? At least that way you know they have heard it and understood it. And you have planted the seed of the gospel in them… for God to grow… and you have left nothing to chance. After all, Jesus did both. He was very relational and He proclaimed the gospel. He was full of grace and truth. He was pro-active. He never waited for people to come to him. He went to them to proclaim the 9

gospel. Aren’t we supposed to be imitating Him?” Alice: (laughing) “Julian, the bottom line is, you’re an evangelist and I am not. It’s just not me Julian, I am sorry, I am just not cut out for that stuff.”

Me: (gently but starting to feel frustrated) “But what about all the millions of people out there who are not brushing with a Christian and who don’t have a Christian friend? Who is going to reach them?

Eventually, we have to get beyond ‘bits and pieces conversations’ and get down to actually communicating the whole gospel. I have the gift of evangelism and I am supposed to train everyone how to do this. So if God’s assignment to me is to train everyone, then everyone must have a responsibility to do evangelism, and even make it a priority. God wouldn’t command everyone to do it if only a few people were capable. That would be cruel of God.” Alice: (defensively) “Ok, show me where the Bible says we are all to do it. I know for sure the Bible teaches that we are a body, each with a different part to play… (more light heartedly) …I am not the same body part as you Julian. Just prove what you are saying from the Bible!” on’t be duped…

Many Christians want to know the answer to Alice’s final question. In this Mini Book I show from the Bible that evangelism is the responsibility and privilege of all believers.1 If the enemy can dupe Christians into believing that only those with the ‘gift’ of evangelism are to do it, or those with a certain personality type, and few people in the Church have that gift or personality, then few in the Church will evangelise. But then again, fostering disobedience to God’s will in the world, especially in the Christian community, is the devil’s raison d’être.

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1 When I speak of “all believers” I mean all who are physically and mentally capable. There are some in the Church, who, because of severe disability, or their age (e.g. babies) or mental state (e.g. dementia) cannot evangelise.

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Dr Sidlow Baxter, theologian and author, writes powerfully on the subject of how the enemy tries to discourage Christians from doing God’s will. “The first temptation in Eden and the many temptations which have entrapped men and women since, are fundamentally identical. The tempter’s great purpose is to divorce the will of Christians more and more from the will of God.”2 So what is the will of God when it comes to evangelism? What do Christian scholars and significant leaders say? Are all Christians commanded to evangelise or not?

Dr William Barclay: “It is the duty of the Church, and that means the duty of every Christian, to tell the story of the good news of Jesus to those who have never heard it.”3 It doesn’t get much clearer than that. But I’ll throw in more quotes, lest you think I’m relying on one or two scholars who happen to agree with me.

Few opinions would be as respected as that of Dr Billy Graham. He is emphatic: “For too long we have assumed that evangelism was the province of only a few professionals, or a task that the pastor alone could do (in addition to the multitude of other duties the pastor faces every day). Such a view is not faithful to the New Testament, nor is it realistic if the challenges of the coming decades are to be met. The task is simply too overwhelming.”4 According to Dr Leighton Ford, the Latin American Mission researched the fastest growing movements in their field and found them to be the Communists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Pentecostal churches. They then sought to discover a common denominator – which was obviously not their message. Finally they came up with this proposition: “The growth of any movement is in direct proportion to its ability to mobilise its entire membership for 2

Dr J. Sidlow Baxter. Explore The Book. Zondervan, 1966, p.37

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Dr William Barclay. The Gospel Of Mark. Saint Andrew Press, 1975, p.370

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Dr Billy Graham. Christianity Today Magazine. December, 1977.

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continuous evangelistic action… Based on this thesis,” says Ford, “a programme of ‘evangelism in depth’ has been moving from country to country in Latin America, training, uniting and mobilising ordinary Christians as never before, and making unprecedented impact in the life of these nations.”5 owing seeds of doubt and twisting scripture: hallmarks of the enemy.

The enemy loves to stop Christians from proclaiming the gospel by sowing doubt in their minds regarding God’s instruction. “Did God really say all Christians are to proclaim the gospel?” he asks slyly. But he does not stop there. He plays on this doubt by persuading many Christians they are not gifted by God to do so, or that evangelism is for those with a certain personality type.

Moreover, he often uses Scripture to bolster his case. For example, he will whisper in the ear of a Christian, “The Bible says the Church is a body with many parts. An evangelist is a special part of this spiritual body, as an eye is to the physical body. If you’re the heart, don’t even try to be an eye. Just rest in how God made you.” This line of reasoning sounds so right and so logical, but is it Biblical? It’s true that people in the Church have different personalities It’s true that they have different gifts. It’s true that we are to flow in the gift God has given us and not try and be something we are not made to be or do. But are all some Christians exempt from doing evangelism.

Answer? No. So how do we counter the devil’s devices which would argue otherwise? As was the example of Jesus in His desert temptation, we do so from Scripture. efeating the enemy with scripture…

Acknowledging there is no single Bible verse that tells us bluntly, “All Christians are commanded to proclaim or spread the gospel,” we reach this conclusion by systematically piecing together

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5 Dr Leighton Ford. The Christian Persuader. A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row, 1976, p.47

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various scriptures.

First, each of the Gospels contains a command from Jesus to do evangelism: 1. Matthew: “...Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

2. Mark: “Go into all the world and preach the good news” (Mark 16:15).

3. Luke: “…and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).

4. John: “As my Father sent me, even so I send you” (John 20:21).

Together with Acts 1:8, these are viewed by scholars as Jesus’ five Great Commission announcements.

Studying and meditating on these verses is an important strategy from heaven in the battle for souls. If we are not convinced from these and other verses that evangelism is for everyone, we will not do it. So what do I want you to notice in the five verses above?

While only Mark talks explicitly about proclaiming the gospel, the other three Gospel writers do so implicitly.

For example, in Matthew Jesus talks of making disciples. A disciple is an apprentice or learner, someone who imitates his master or teacher. So, if all Christians are disciples and imitators of Jesus, and they are, and Jesus spent a lot of time saying who He was and why He came (i.e. evangelising), then it follows that all Christians are to learn how to evangelise. That is to say, to tell others about who Jesus is and why He came. Serious disciples of Jesus will desire earnestly to imitate Him in this crucial work. We discovered in Mini Book Seven that the evangelisation of the world is not just ‘crucial work.’ Rather, it’s the very mission of the Church. It’s the priority of Jesus.

In John 20:21, Jesus is talking to His disciples. Since we too are Jesus’ disciples, ‘you’ in this verse refers to us as well. Furthermore, 13

if all are sent, what are we all sent to do? I answered this question in the previous Mini Book. We are sent to proclaim or spread the gospel, just as Jesus and Paul did.

As for Luke 24:46-49 and Acts 1:8, Luke has recorded the last words of Jesus before He was taken up to heaven. Again, Jesus is talking to all the disciples, and since all Christians are disciples of Jesus, He is talking to all of us as well. We are to actively participate in the great task of communicating repentance and forgiveness in His name to all the nations. To do so is to ‘witness.’

To communicate ‘repentance’ one must explain to the lost why they must be saved and forgiven. After they have heard why they must be saved and forgiven, the next logical step is to explain to them how Jesus can save them and forgive them. After this, one must explain what a lost person must do to repent and be forgiven. Repentance and forgiveness come with a cost, so we must explain the cost too.

In explaining all this, what are we doing? We are evangelising.

Conclusion? Luke 24:46-49 and Acts 1:8 are universal commands to the whole Church to evangelise the world. It couldn’t be clearer. on’t take on the absurd…

Some have argued that Jesus’ command to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel” was only to the disciples of His day.

That instruction, they claim, does not apply to Christians now. But remember Jesus also told His disciples to “Love one another.” It would be absurd to argue that the command to “Love one another” was only for the disciples in Jesus’ day. isten to respected leaders…

Dr Jerram Barrs, Founder and Resident Scholar of the Francis Schaeffer Institute at Covenant Theological Seminary, says the Bible’s position is clear: “The apostles and the whole Church understood that the command to reach out with the gospel was not for the apostles only but for the entire Church of that day. It was also a command…for every day in the life of the generations

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to come.”6 Popular theologian and author Dr John Piper, agrees: “The first thing to make clear about [the Great Commission] is that it is still binding on the modern Church. It was given not only to the apostles for their ministry but also to the Church for its ministry.”7 Renowned missiologist Dr Norman Lewis exhorts us: “To evangelise the world with God’s good news is not an option for the follower of Christ. Nor is it the sole territory of a few idealists who choose to be different. Jesus Christ made the worldwide witness8 the business of every believer… every Christian will answer at last to Him based on obedience to His command. ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to the whole world (Mark 16:15).’”9 Dr Leighton Ford rebukes churches which rely on evangelists and pastors to do their evangelism.

“A church which bottlenecks its outreach by depending on specialists - its pastors and evangelists – to do its witnessing, is living in violation of both the intention of its Head and the consistent pattern of the early Christians.”10 Dr Peter Wagner chips in: “…the true mission of proclaiming the gospel begins in the local church and extends to the whole world and is the task of every believer.”11 he “gift of evangelism”…who has it and what’s it for?

Now let’s look at Ephesians 4:10-14. Here, the Bible speaks of a person who is Christ’s gift to the Church. It is from this scripture that we get the idea of someone having the special “gift of evangelism.”

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Dr Jerram Barrs, The Heart of Evangelism. Inter Varsity Press, 2001, p.37

7 Dr John Piper, Let The Nations Be Glad. The Supremacy of God in Missions. Baker Books, 2003, p.160 8 In Mini Book Four, I explained the meaning of this word, so often limited by Christians to mean only ‘letting non-Christians know, somehow, that we are a Christian.’

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Dr Norm Lewis, Priority One. OM Literature, 1988, p.1

10 Dr Leighton Ford, The Christian Persuader: A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row, 1976, p.46.

11 Dr C. Peter Wagner & Pablo Deiros Ed. The Rising Revival. Renew Books, 1998, p.51

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“He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:10-14). We can glean at least four truths from this passage of Scripture: 1. God has given certain people to the church as a “gift.”

2. The evangelist is given “to prepare God’s people.” What for?

To show them how to evangelise.

3. These evangelists are given to the Church to prepare it “for works of service.” What service? The evangelisation of the world.

4. When each person in the Church is fully equipped by these people (i.e. by prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers), the task of preparing God’s people for works of service will be complete. Every Christian who is fully equipped can attain to “the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.” In other words, they can walk in the fulness of God’s maturity, fruitfulness, and blessing. vangelists were never meant to do all the work…

Tellingly, it does not say, “He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, so that they can go and do all the work.” Rather, it says certain people are given to the church to prepare God’s people to do the work.12 ecoming what we ought to be…

Commenting on Ephesians 4:11-13, Dr William Barclay writes: “After Paul has named the different office bearers within

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12 Some people have asked ‘If evangelists teach us how to evangelise, does this mean prophets teach us how to prophecy, teachers how to teach, apostles how to be an apostle, and pastors how to be a pastor?’ The answer to this question is on our web site at www.esisite.com and look under ‘frequently asked questions’.

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the church, he goes on to speak of their aim and what they must try to do. Their aim is that the members of the church should be fully equipped. The word Paul uses for ‘equipped’ is interesting. It is katartismon, which comes from the verb katartizein. The word is used in surgery for setting a broken limb or for putting a joint back into its place. In politics it is used for bringing together opposing factions, so that the government can go on. In the New Testament it is used in mending nets (Mark 1:19), and in the context of disciplining an offender until he is fit to take his place again within the fellowship of the church (Galatians 6:1). The basic idea of the word is that of putting a thing into the condition in which it ought to be. It is the function of the office-bearers of the church to see that the members of the church… become what they ought to be.”13 Christians who do not evangelise are like broken bones. They are not what they ought to be. Evangelists are God’s physicians, given to heal these broken bones. ow to maximise the health of your church…

But that is not all. Paul teaches in Ephesians 4 that the Church is ailing because she is not united in the faith, not united in the knowledge of God’s Son; that she is immature and falling short of the fulness of Christ. So in Ephesians 4:10-14 the Lord is speaking to the Church as a doctor would to a sick patient. He says, “I am going to give you five gifts to cure this sickness – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Each of them has a unique and vital contribution to make you spiritually fit and vibrant.

As each of these gifted people prepares you for works of service, and as each person in the Church puts into practice what they teach you, the body of Christ will be healed. Take out one of the five, and you won’t attain the radiant health I intended.” Some might argue, “Well, I don’t evangelise and I don’t feel spiritually sick. I

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13 Dr William Barclay. The Letters To The Galatians and Ephesians. The Saint Andrew Press. Edinburgh, 1985, p.149

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feel close to Jesus and my spiritual life is awesome!” How should we reply? Many forms of disease can be present in the body without the carrier being aware. Awareness comes later when the sickness becomes full blown, or by chance discovered through a blood test.

It is the same with evangelism.

When we don’t feel the need to evangelise, this doesn’t mean God is not commanding us to evangelise, or that our participation in evangelism is not necessary.

It simply means that we are out of sync with the will of God in this area of our lives and we just don’t know it! It will only be as we begin to evangelise that we’ll become aware of just how sick we were when we weren’t evangelising. In short, those who are currently not evangelising don’t know what they don’t know about a grave sickness they are carrying. n antibiotics analogy…

If you are sick and the doctor gives you a ten-day supply of antibiotics but you only take half the course, your medicine will not work. It’s the same with the five-fold ministry gifts. Take out the evangelism component (or any other ‘gift’) and the healing won’t work.

In most churches in the West, serious ongoing training in evangelism is not on the calendar.

Take Britain for example.

Of 1017 churches in Britain which were surveyed to ascertain how many had trained their people for evangelism in the decade 2001 to 2010, only a staggering 36 (3.5%) said they had done so.

All other Western countries would fare no better.

How this situation must sadden Jesus. Out of the supply of His glorious riches and bounty He gives precious gifts – and we reject

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them.14 This ought never to be.

And the Church will never attain to “the whole measure of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) as long as this situation persists. A key battle strategy from heaven, then, is to utilise to the full all the five gifts God has given to His Church, including evangelists. he benefits of evangelising – what’s in it for you?

We are not yet finished with this passage from Ephesians. It indicates there are many benefits for the Church when its members are equipped for, and practising, evangelism. It helps to: 1. Unite the body of Christ in faith.

2. Unite the body in the knowledge of God’s Son. 3. Bring the body to maturity.

4. Bring the body to a place where it can attain the “whole measure of the fulness of Christ.”

But it is not just Ephesians 4 which highlights the spiritual benefits for the believer of being active in evangelism. There is also Philemon 6.

“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”

How does this passage teach that all Christians are to proclaim the gospel? Well, if it is God’s will that all Christians come to a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ, and sharing our faith is a vital part of this process, then all must be active in sharing their faith, surely? he gift of the Spirit and the call to witness belong together…

Citing Acts 1:8, Dr John Stott argues that evangelism is everyone’s responsibility: “There is not room… for evasion by trying to limit the commission of Jesus to the apostles or to any subsequent

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14 True, some evangelists deserve bad press. We can be insensitive, dogmatic, threatening, and one-eyed.

These are just some of our weaknesses. Yet, in spite of this, God calls us, and the strengths we bring, ‘a gift’ to the Church.

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section of the Church. Acts 1:8 is clear: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; you shall be My witnesses…’ We can only restrict the command to witness if we equally restrict the promise of power. The gift of the Spirit and the call to be witnesses belong together and apply indiscriminately to all Christians. All Christians may inherit the promise; all must obey the command.”15 By “witnessing,” in this context, Stott means proclaiming the gospel.16 eing the ambassador God always meant you to be…

Dr R. Kent Hughes, Author and Senior Pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, interprets Acts 1:8 similarly: “The command to be Christ’s witnesses is for all true believers in Him. There are no loopholes. No one can say, ‘This does not apply to me.’ Our mandate exceeds that of any worldly ambassador, whether it is to mainland China, France or the private offices of the Prime Minister of England. Christ’s last word is ‘You will be my witnesses.’”17 Dr Hughes also mentions 2 Corinthians 5:20 in support of his case. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” “Paul is referring not to the requirements of believers,” Hughes writes, “but to the evangelistic duty of Christ’s ambassadors to go into the world and announce the good news of reconciliation to every creature, pleading with men to receive as their own what God has freely provided in His Son. An ambassador speaks and acts not only on behalf of but also in place of the Sovereign from whom

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15 Dr John Stott. Motives and Methods In Evangelism. IVP, 1973, p.5 16 Many in the Church misunderstand “witnessing.” For some it means letting a non-Christian know you are a Christian. If, for example, a non-Christian asks the question, “What did you do on the weekend?” and I answer, “I went to church,” some may think I have witnessed. But there is much more to the true understanding of “witnessing” than this. I discussed this in Mini Book Four, device 10.

17 Dr R. Kent Hughes. Acts. The Church Afire. Crossway Books, 1996, p.17

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he has received his commission. Since all Christians are Christ’s ambassadors, we must all perform the duty of an ambassador. If we are truly ambassadors, we too must proclaim, if indeed we are truly representing our Sovereign. We cannot claim all the benefits of an ambassador (eternal life, grace, peace, the gift of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, etc) without taking up the responsibilities.”18 old your head up high – you are a privileged person…

Dr Warren Wiersbe, well known international Bible conference teacher and author of more than 80 books, adds further insight. He argues that since we are all ambassadors for Christ, we all must act as such by announcing our Sovereign’s message.

“In the Roman Empire,” he writes, “there were two kinds of provinces: senatorial and imperial. The senatorial provinces were made up of people who were peaceful and not at war with Rome.

They had surrendered and submitted. But the imperial provinces were not peaceful. They were dangerous because they would rebel against Rome if they could. Rome had to send ambassadors to the imperial provinces to make sure rebellion did not break out. Since Christians in the world are the ambassadors of Christ, this means the world is in rebellion against God. This world is an ‘imperial province’ as far as God is concerned. He has sent His ambassadors into the world to declare peace, not war. If sinners reject us and our message, it is Jesus Christ who is actually rejected. What a great privilege it is to be heaven’s ambassadors to the rebellious sinners of this world!”19 If all Christians are ambassadors, and they are, then all are to evangelise, surely? There is no such thing as a silent ambassador, just as there is no such thing as a soccer player who never kicks a ball, a boxer who never boxes, a writer who never writes, or a fisherman who never fishes. These are oxymorons.

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18 ibid, p.17 19 Dr Warren W. Wiersbe, 2 Corinthians. Be Encouraged. Scripture Press, 1984, p.68

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ow to grow your church…

Dr Michael Green points to other scriptures to support the case that evangelism is for all believers: “The biggest difference between the New Testament church and our own,” he says, “is that every member was a witness. The responsibility of bearing witness to Jesus rested fairly and squarely upon every single member. You don’t just find it in the odd by-ways of the New Testament: Jude urges his readers in graphic terms to ‘save some, by snatching them out of the fire’ (Jude 1:23).

Timothy, though naturally timid and not an evangelist, is nevertheless bidden to ‘do the work of an evangelist’ (2 Timothy 4:5) and to ‘be urgent in season and out of season’ (2 Timothy 4:2). You find it everywhere. In 1 Thessalonians 1:8, Paul rejoices that the Word of God has sounded forth from the newly-fledged Thessalonian Christians, and that their faith in God has spread like wildfire. And in Acts 8:1-4 we find the Jerusalem leaders shut up in fear in an upper room while the common believers were scattered by a persecution springing from the death of Stephen. What did they do? They went everywhere spreading the gospel. Evangelism was the spontaneous chattering of good news. It was engaged in naturally, continuously, easily and joyfully by Christians wherever they went.

If you want evangelism in your church, do not hire a famous preacher. Build up the congregation for informal witness. And the church will grow.”20 Wise pastors and leaders take note. Michael Green is speaking here of another battle strategy from heaven.

Three other scriptures are cited by scholars to show how the responsibility to evangelise is the privilege of everyone in the Church: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has 20 Dr Michael Green. Evangelism Now And Then. IVP, 1979, p.118

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anointed me to preach good news [the gospel] to the poor” (Luke 4:18). “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

As I have already said right at the beginning of this Mini Book, if the goal of the Christian life is to imitate Christ, and gospel proclamation dominated His life, then surely, if we are truly in touch with our Master, and one of His disciples, we’ll want to imitate Him in this vital task. hat it takes to be like a top golfer in the world...

Think how amazing it would be if you boldly and unashamedly added to your Christian experience the habit of regularly proclaiming the gospel. You could then say honestly that you were imitating the major aspect of the life of Jesus.

I can’t think of any Christian behaviour which would put you in a better position to receive the fulness of all that Jesus has for you.

To desire to be a sincere disciple of Jesus but omit regular personal evangelism is like saying, “I’m going to imitate the number one golfer in the world, but, if you don’t mind, I don’t want to hit any golf balls.”

Jesus never gave his disciples the option of picking and choosing which aspects of His life they would like to imitate. The authentic Christian life can never be reduced to a spiritual smorgasbord. esus is so great, He is worth declaring…

An Australian theologian, John Chapman, cites 1 Peter 2:910 to show how evangelism is a command for all Christians rather than just those with the gift: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

“The people of God are described in 1 Peter in terms taken

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directly from the Old Testament,” writes Chapman, who then goes on to amplify this.

“First, God’s people are a special people,” he reminds us. “As chosen specially by Him, they cannot be ordinary. Had the choice of who could be Christians been left to us, we might have chosen differently, which only shows how unlike God we are! He loves them and so should we.

Secondly, God’s people have a special task – to declare the praises of God, and these praises are all associated with the work of salvation, when people move from darkness to light. To whom is this declaration in 1 Peter 2: 9-10 made? Since God’s people are here described in Old Testament terms which referred to Israel, the declaration is clearly to be made to ‘the nations’ (Isaiah 49:1) to whom Israel is called to witness (Mark 1:17; Isaiah 56:6-7).

The declaration of God’s mighty deeds in salvation is to be made known to those who are not yet Christian. All Christians – not just those with the gift of evangelism – belong to the people whose purpose is to ‘declare the mighty deeds of God.’”21 Chapman continues, “There is a special gift of the evangelist as there is a special gift of faith (1 Corinthians 12:9), but that doesn’t mean all of us shouldn’t evangelise, any more than it means we don’t all need to exercise faith.”22 od the Evangelist calls us to be His fellow workers…

The Lausanne Covenant documents cite 2 Corinthians 6:1 as a key scripture to support the truth that evangelism is the responsibility of all believers.23 “As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.” Commenting on that verse, Dr John Stott says, “God the evangelist gives His

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21 John Chapman. Know and Tell the Truth. The Why And How Of Evangelism. Hodder and Stoughton, 1991, pp.42-4 22 ibid, p.42 23 Cited in Dr Lewis Drummond. The Word Of The Cross. A Contemporary Theology Of Evangelism.

Broadman Press, 1992, p.363

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people the privilege of being His ‘fellow workers.’ For although we cannot witness without Him, He normally chooses to witness through us. He calls only some to be evangelists,24 missionaries or pastors, but He calls the whole Church and every member of it to be His witnesses.”25 As Dr Leighton Ford says, “If our goal is the penetration of the whole world, then for the agents to carry out this task, we must aim at nothing less than the mobilisation of the whole Church.”26 atholics take a lead…

Sadly, Protestants and Catholics often disagree on points of theology, but on the question of who is to do evangelism, we are agreed. The late Pope John Paul II, addressing Catholic young people at World Youth Day in 1992, had this to say: “Here we are before the Seventh World Youth Day. I chose these words of Christ as this year’s theme: ‘Go into all the whole world and proclaim the gospel’ (Mark 16:15). Through the Church, these words addressed to the apostles concern every baptised person.

The same Spirit who made us children of God compels us to evangelise. Moreover, proclaiming means precisely proclaiming — becoming one who brings the word of salvation to others. There is indeed much ignorance about the Christian faith, but there is also a deep desire to hear the Word of God. And faith comes from listening. St Paul writes: ‘How can they believe unless they have heard of Him?’ (Romans 10:14). Dear young people, proclaiming the Word of God is not the responsibility of priests or the religious alone, but it is yours too. You must have the courage to speak about Christ in your families and in places where you study, work or recreate, inspired with the same fervour the apostles had when they said: ‘We cannot help speaking of what

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24 Stott means those with the Ephesians 4:11-12 gift of evangelism.

25 For a full discussion on what it means for a Christian to be ‘a witness’, see Mini Book Four.

26 Dr Leighton Ford. The Christian Persuader: A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row. 1976, p.45

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we have heard and seen’ (Acts 4:20). Nor should you be silent!”27 Bill Hybels said: “[with respect to evangelism] we need 100% participation [from our church members]. Every Christian in the world is part of the Church to which Jesus gave the Great Commission.”28 ow do I find the time?

Despite all the evidence, many Christians struggle to see how they might fit evangelising into their daily lives.

“Am I supposed to give up my job and be out there proclaiming the gospel all day long to everyone everywhere?” one might ask.

“As a busy mother, how can I be obedient to this command when I spend most of my days just surviving with my children?”

“I run a clinic for AIDS patients. How am I supposed to make proclaiming the gospel the main thing?”

“I am a busy executive working 18 hours a day. Where would I find time to do this?”

These are honest questions.

The diagrams below help us to see the difference between how people with the “gift” of evangelism might use their day and how everyone else in the Church might fit evangelism into their routine.

They also help us see how engaging in evangelism is much simpler and easier than we ever dreamed or imagined.

With the revolutionary tools and strategies God has graced us with, now literally everyone in the Church can feel comfortable with evangelism and actually engage in it. How good is that!

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27 http://www.pcf.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/youth/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_24111991_vii-worldyouth-day_en.html 28 Cited in: Mark Mittleberg. Building A Contagious Church. Revolutionising The Way We View And Do Evangelism. Zondervan Publishing. 2000. p. 169

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The circles represent all the various things an evangelist (i.e. someone with “the gift�) does in their day. One of them is shopping.

When the evangelist leaves their office, they can give the gospel to someone while they are out shopping. In other words, they evangelise naturally as they go about their day. The rest of their time is spent organising training events for churches and preparing resources.

In contrast, the diagram on the next page represents the waking hours of someone who has a talent or a calling in an area other than evangelism. Let’s say the person represented by the diagram above is a mother of three little children under five and she has a husband.

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Like the evangelist with the gift, she too gets out of her house.

This is when she can speak to someone about the gospel or at the very least give them a booklet with the gospel written on it or a www.Biblein11.com business card.29 How else might this mother evangelise?30 She might: • Have coffee with a friend and share the gospel while the children play outside.

• Attend a recreational activity while a baby sitter looks after her children and share the gospel with someone there.

• Leave a tract in the doctor’s reception rooms after taking her preschooler to an appointment.

• Give a www.Biblein11.com business card to the library assistant when she takes out a book.

She might give a www.Biblein11.com card to someone she sees 29 To find out more about this concept, just email me: julian@esisite.com 30 Most people in the world perceive they are extremely busy – and most are. It is easy to see how evangelism would quickly shut down if every Christian thought they were exempt from proclaiming or spreading the gospel just because they were busy. This is why I wrote Mini Book Seven of this book – to show that what we make a priority will nearly always get done. To illustrate this truth, I have often put the following scenario before Christians: “Imagine if the richest man in the world became a Christian and he became radically committed to evangelism. In fact, he became so committed that he offered to pay any Christian $US1000 for anyone with whom they shared the gospel.” I am certain the priority of many Christians would suddenly change quickly. Courses on evangelism would be full to over flowing. Christians proclaiming the gospel would flood the world. Evangelism would boom. Conclusion? Money has become more important to us than obeying God. What other conclusion is there?

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sitting in a car next to where her car is parked.31 What each of us must realise is that we are nearly all brushing with non-Christians everyday and each and every brush is a potential opportunity to give a lost person the key to entrance to eternal life.

We need our eyes opened to see these opportunities and our hearts changed so that we possess the heart of Jesus to take and make them. We also need great tools and strategies which make evangelism loving, gracious, quick, and easy. Thankfully, we now have these so absolutely everyone in the Church can now participate. e have to be intentional…

For me personally, I have found that if I try to “fit” evangelism into my day, I will end up not evangelising i.e. when I go shopping, I intentionally take time out to reach someone with the gospel. How often should we do it? Really, this is a silly question.

It’s like asking “how often should I love my children, read my Bible, or pay my bills on time?”

As long as people have not heard, we must reach them. Anyone can evangelise in the course of a day by putting a tract or www.

Biblein11.com business card in a strategic place. I can’t think of anyone in the Church who couldn’t do this. Really, how hard is it to give out a business card or leave it where someone will find it? e are all busy, but…

No matter how busy we are, if we truly “get it” in our hearts and minds that the evangelisation of the world really and truly is Jesus’ priority, any genuine believer would make it their personal priority, surely? What would it look like for a busy person to make it their personal priority? Someone I know works in the inner city in a

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31 E.g. giving them to tellers at shops and banks, placing them at ATM machines, public telephone boxes; on the table in cafes and restaurants – any situation where we mix with non-Christians or where someone might pick it up and read it.

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busy office. He has a wife and children at home and has one hour for lunch each day.

Before he eats, he leaves the office to give the gospel on the busy streets. He won’t eat until he has evangelised. He has made this a habit. He also holds himself accountable to another friend so that he won’t slip back into old ways.

Another lady simplified her lifestyle in order to make evangelism the priority. Instead of watching five hours of TV a week she watched only four, dedicating the other hour to evangelising the world. She leaves her house one evening a week to go out and look for someone to whom she can give the gospel.

Another whole family dedicated Saturday mornings to going out as a family to evangelise. They report that it bound them together as a family like no other family activity had ever done.

Making evangelising a priority is, ultimately, just a choice. Every person in the world has 24 hours in their day. What each person does with it depends on what’s in their heart. roclaiming the gospel from the heart…

Whatever commitment we make, it is the spirit with which we make it that counts. The heart of any genuine believer, though their time might be limited, will be to reach more people with the gospel and go out of their way to create opportunities. Their first motivation is for the glory of God, the second is because they love people. ix things that could stop us from evangelising…

In my experience it is not just a question of time constraints.

Most of us want to be able to evangelise, but six things stop us: 1. We don’t know how to start the conversation.

2. Once we’ve started, we don’t know what to say.

3. We lack training and tools that are contemporary, designed for today’s culture, and easy to use.

4. We don’t feel confident to answer the questions which non-Christians might ask when we share the gospel with them.

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5. We fear others will respond negatively when we share with them.

6. We have been influenced by the enemy’s devices and think it is someone else’s responsibility.

We want solutions to these problems. We want to evangelise in a way that is quick and simple, which glorifies God, and which does not compromise the content of the gospel in any way. What would you think of a gospel tool or method which omitted no important truth, which was not unnecessarily complicated, and which left the non-Christian feeling loved yet utterly convicted by the Holy Spirit of their need for Jesus?

That’s quite some wish-list! Fortunately there are some tremendous tools available now which will enable you to evangelise in just such a way.32 hat’s in your heart? Do the test...

You could react to the content of this Mini Book – that the task of evangelising is given to all of us – in at least four different ways, each being a cunning device of the enemy to knock you out of active participation.

First you could decide that it is true, but do nothing about it.

This would be wilful disobedience.

Next you could put the responsibility on the pastor, saying you will get serious about evangelising as soon as some training is organised. This would be passing the buck.

Thirdly you could employ delay tactics: “I’m going to pray about this,” you might say, “and when God tells me to do it, I will.” This would be delaying obedience.

Fourthly you could deny the truths outlined in this Mini Book and return to your old way of life, clinging to the myth that evangelism is to be done only by those with ‘the gift’ or by people who are less busy than you. This would be suppressing the truth.

Let’s not react in any of these ways.

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32 Please email me at julian@esisite.com and I will give you access to an online library of tools and strategies.

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eing in the best position to flourish…

Without doubt obedience positions you for the blessing of 33 God. James says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).

We are called to obedience (1 Samuel 15:22); passing the buck is a sin which has been around since the beginning of time (Genesis 3:12); Jesus specifically taught against delaying obedience (Matthew 8:18-22); and Paul (Romans 1:18) warned against suppressing the truth.

In contrast, those planted in the house of the Lord [i.e. those who seek to live in obedience] will flourish (Psalm 92:13). on’t blame your pastor….

There is a sobering warning in Ezekiel 33:7-9 about not putting all the responsibility on our leader or pastor: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak [to you] and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.” od is talking to you too…

Notice Ezekiel’s constant use of the pronoun you. The enemy would like us to brush this verse aside. We might say, “Oh, God was only talking to Ezekiel the prophet, and through him to Israel. This verse does not apply to believers today.” oes Ezekiel 33:7-9 apply to all of us today…?

Why would Ezekiel 33:7-9 not apply to us today? What’s different between God’s charge to Ezekiel and Jesus’ command

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33 There are exceptions of course. Obedience can sometimes bring torture, persecution, separation from family and friends and even death. Blessing may not always follow obedience, but obedience always precedes blessing.

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to us in Mark 16:15? The judgments Ezekiel was to proclaim are similar to those in the gospel. For example, Ezekiel is commanded to transmit a message given by God, and so are we. He is to alert the people around him to the peril of their ways and to call them to righteousness, as we are (e.g. Luke 13:3). The offer of forgiveness is certain for those who turn, which is the core of our gospel message (e.g. 1 John 1:9). If sinners don’t turn, they will meet with a violent and terrible end (John 3:18). There are consequences for not evangelising (e.g. Luke 9:26). e are all God’s sentries…

Dr Christopher Wright, former principal of All Nations Christian College, London, is also convinced Ezekiel 33:7-9 applies to us today: “The implications for Christian ministry seem to flow naturally [from these verses]… those who are among the flock being pastored need the challenge of the evangelistic warning and appeal.

The sentry is never off duty.”34 The fact that Paul in Acts 18:6 and 20:26 uses the same imagery as Ezekiel when his audience rejects the gospel, further strengthens the argument. Dr John Stott35 and Dr I. Howard Marshall36 are two other scholars who connect these two verses in Acts with Ezekiel 33. It is not only pastors and leaders who will be accountable for the blood of those who perish without having been warned through the gospel, but each of us, individually. If your church doesn’t provide training in evangelism, it is your duty to seek it out. atch out for self-deception…

As for saying, “I’ll pray about it,” before deciding to actively evangelise, really, what is the point? The Bible already tells us clearly that proclaiming the gospel is the will of God for each one of us. Yes, we ought to cover our activities and decisions with

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34 Dr Christopher J.H. Wright. The Message Of Ezekiel, IVP, 2001, p.221 35 Dr John Stott, The Message Of Acts. IVP, 2003, p.298 36 Dr I.Howard Marshall, The Acts Of The Apostles. An Introduction And Commentary, IVP, 1987, p.333

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prayer, but let’s not use ‘I’ll pray about it’ as a delaying tactic or a fobb off.

I urge you in Jesus not to return to your old way of thinking. Consider the many exhortations in the Bible not to be deceived. For example: “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Of course, even once we are convinced it is true that we must all take responsibility for being active in evangelism, Satan’s next cunning device is to suggest the “come to me” approach.

He persuades Christians to pray, “Lord, if you want me to reach someone with the gospel, please bring them to me and make it obvious. Have them ask me to share the gospel with them. If you don’t do this, I will know you don’t want me to do any evangelism today.” esus created the opportunities…

Don’t fall for this. Jesus specifically said “Go” (Mark 16:15).37 ‘Go’ means means ‘make it happen.’ Once trained in evangelism, we must do more than wait for opportunities to fall into our lap. We must learn to create them, as Jesus did. In the parables of the lost sheep and the lost penny,38 the shepherd and the housekeeper went looking for what was lost. These parables illustrate important truths about evangelism: First, as God sought us, so we in turn ought to seek the lost around us and present the gospel to them. Imagine what Jesus endured in coming to us. In heaven He was worshipped and adored by the angelic host and yet He left the comfort of His home to come to earth and seek us out. For His efforts He was rejected, beaten,

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37 Better still, ‘…as you go.’

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mocked, despised and eventually crucified. Jesus set the level of the bar with respect to inconvenience and discomfort.39 Second, seeking out the lost will cost us something. It will nearly always be a hassle, or at the very least an inconvenience.

Having to leave the 99 sheep and look for the lost one was a major inconvenience for the shepherd.

He probably had to find someone to look after the 99, and this may have cost him financially. Then there was the irritation of the actual search. Having to contend with steep hillsides, thorns, bushes, wild animals, heat, thirst, and an animal quick on its feet that delighted to resist capture was, overall, one gigantic inconvenience.

Similarly, looking for the lost coin took a lot of the woman’s time.

Moving all the furniture, getting down on hands and knees, endless back-bending. What a chore! Yet she did it because of the value of the coin. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).40 Putting ourselves out is one way to take up our cross. To commit to being intentional in evangelism is a vital battle strategy in the war for souls. ushing through…

I will close this Mini Book by telling a personal story of the blessing which comes from embracing the “inconvenience factor” in evangelism. One cold, rainy night in the middle of winter I was travelling home around 11:30pm. I had been ministering all day, and the last thing I felt like doing was reaching a non-Christian with the

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39 Often Christians ask, “If I go and look for lost people to present the gospel to, how do I know who to choose?” Please email me. I will direct you to resources which will answer this question. Julian@esisite.com 40 This was one scripture which guided me to setting a goal of reaching at least one person a day with the gospel. By God’s grace, for many years, I have been able to keep this commitment, missing no more than a dozen days. Some days, I admit, I have gone out and given the gospel with a very poor attitude. I have wanted to ‘tick the box’ rather than really sincerely “love my neighbour” or “glorify Jesus.” But I reason that going with a bad attitude is far better than sitting at home piously congratulating myself for not going because “I would dishonour the Lord with my bad attitude.” This is yet another of the enemy’s devices. The truth is, God can grow a seed from the hand of a farmer with a bad attitude but never a seed from the hand of a farmer with a good attitude who doesn’t sow it.

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gospel. As I drove down a long, inner-city road near my house, a great battle arose in my mind.

“Look, I’m weary!” I told myself. “The commitment I made to reaching one person a day is just legalism.41 I don’t have to do it.

God can see I’ve been doing His work, and He will love me no less if I miss a day!”

As I began to settle this in my mind, another “voice” spoke up.

“You made a commitment – just do it! Hey, if you can’t push through the hard times, what kind of an example is that for others?

You can only lead others where you’ve been yourself. If you make excuses, everyone else has a right to also. You know that in the past when you made big sacrifices for the lost, God came through. Just do it.”

Thankfully I listened to the second voice. As I drove up the road, I could see a lone figure inside a McDonald’s restaurant. The person’s face was obscured by the rain running down the window.

I parked the car and made sure I had the little tool we use to deliver the gospel, plus a follow-up booklet. Then I made a dash from my car through the rain. When I got inside, it turned out the figure I had seen through the window was in his fifties. He was reading the newspaper and enjoying a hot drink. own to the wire…

By now it was about 11:40pm. I approached him in the usual way, but to my surprise he said politely that he would rather not hear what I had to say as he had had a big day and was “just unwinding.”

There was no one else in the restaurant and time was running out.

Would I have to go out in the rain to find someone?

I decided to buy something to drink and think what to do next.

The friendly woman who came to serve me was in her fifties.

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41 On his retirement, I once asked Bob McNaughton, an old, greatly-used-by-God evangelist of many decades the question, “what is the one piece of advice you would give me as you retire from this organisation?” He looked at me with his piercing, clear eyes and replied with some force, “Julian, never stop actually doing evangelism. This is my advice to you.”

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Suddenly, an idea came.

“Hey!” I said to her. “I wonder if you could help me with something?” Immediately she agreed; and we went all the way through the gospel presentation. About a third of the way through, we were joined by two other McDonald’s employees who also seemed eager to listen and watch. At the end of the presentation, all of them agreed that if they died that night they would go to hell. This was clearly a shocking revelation. They had always believed that all you had to do to get to heaven was be a good person. ore follow up booklets needed…

I had brought only one follow-up booklet with me when I first entered, and so I quickly gave the one I had to one of the younger staff members and asked the other two to wait a moment while I dashed to my car to get two more copies.

When I returned, the older staff member did a most surprising thing. She lunged forward and tore one of the booklets from my hand. Pressing it to her chest and looking upward, she exclaimed, as if to God, “Oh, thank you! I have always wanted to know about this!”

By this time it was 11:59pm, but I felt refreshed both physically and spiritually. I drove off, listening to my favourite praise music on the stereo. When I got into bed I just lay there, basking in the Holy Spirit as I thought about what had just happened and the goodness of God to hold me to my commitment.

What are the lessons here? It seems to me that the bigger the inconvenience/pain, the bigger the blessing. We will never grow unless we continually push our personal boundaries and limits.

Why not make it your goal to progressively move up the levels in The Six Step Master Plan of Evangelism which I detailed in Mini Book Three? o not leave it to chance – put it in your diary…

Pastors and leaders, diary into your day – or your week – an

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appointment to reach someone with the gospel, either through a tract or through proclamation.42 Let it be an inconvenience for you. Feel the weight of the Cross. Set the example in your church. Take up Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to “…do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5). Your sacrifice and discipline will give your people courage and confidence to follow your example. have found that wherever the leader in a church sets the bar, the people will follow a little underneath…

For example, if you as the leader in your church evangelise once a day your people will evangelise once a week. If you evangelise once a week they will evangelise once a month. If you evangelise once a year they will most probably never do it. It is really that simple.43 So here is another divine insight in the battle for souls.

If you are a leader and you are struggling to mobilise the people in your church to evangelise, and you are not doing it and you want to know why they are not doing it, the answer is that you are not doing it.

Furthermore, if you are active in evangelism, please let your people know. I long for the day when pastors around the world drop stories of their evangelism experiences from the previous week into their Sunday sermons and general conversations.

Tell your staff you will be out of the office for 30 minutes to go and reach someone with the gospel. Let them see you go and come back.

Tell them what happened. Share your experiences in staff meetings. Tell them about what happened when you were on holiday sharing the gospel. As fire ignites petrol, so you will inspire people to follow your example. And please, don’t just relate your successes.

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42 To watch a short video of a Presbyterian minister who took up this challenge, whose life and ministry was

completely changed by doing so, please visit http://youtu.be/g3E7Xt8mALY 43 I deal extensively with the topic of the role of leaders in evangelism in Mini Books Fourteen to Nineteen.

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Tell them of your inner struggles as you sought to establish this new evangelism habit in your life. Show them your heart. Allow them to join you on the journey. I experienced brokenness many times before I eventually broke through in evangelism.

If you are a leader, be open, honest, vocal and visible about your evangelism experiences. For you, more than anyone, this is a critical strategy from heaven in the battle for souls. on’t rely on feelings for motivation, they are unreliable…

I don’t wake up every morning looking forward to going out evangelising. Some days, in fact, I dread the thought, and some days I don’t feel any compassion whatsoever. Most days, the prospect of going into the world and proclaiming the gospel even makes me a little nervous.

So when I go to the lost, it is often just a cold, hard decision.

But often the moment I open my mouth to start the conversation with the lost person, and during the giving of it, the fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit comes on me like a flood, and suddenly feel alive! Then I want to reach others, one after the other. I feel oiled!

Try it! You’ll see what I mean! eaching lost people with the gospel leads to a greater desire to reach more lost people with the gospel.

I go out weeping but return with songs of joy! (Psalm 126:5-6).

Then, when I wake the next day, the strong desire to evangelise and the sheer joy I experienced the previous day are gone. They are only a positive memory. Why is this so? I believe the Holy Spirit allows these feelings of joy from the previous day’s evangelism experiences to ‘leak out’ overnight for a good reason.

He is trying to show me where to find a rich source of joy in the Christian life.

He is saying, “Julian, I am trying to show you where to find living water. Keep going to the lost with My gospel. Keep planting the seed. Go and have a drink. See how sweet it is to be about my

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priority. Don’t sit around glorying in your past victories. Get living, water fresh every day. My supplies are limitless. Julian, people must hear my gospel. They must know about the great love I have for them and why I died on the cross for them. Every time you plant the seed with love and grace, the Holy Spirit will grow it. We, the Trinity, will do the hard bit which is to bring belief to those who hear my precious gospel. Go! And keep going! ” The decision to evangelise each day continues to be an act of the will but the weight of the cross these days is not as heavy as it used to be. I have found that the more one does it, the easier it gets.

Truly, it is a learnt skill! The Holy Spirit will be your teacher.

The truth is, we will never ever succeed with evangelising the world if we base our decision to go (or not) on our feelings of the moment. If we let our feelings rule, the “not now” or “I‘ll do it another day” feeling will always win every time.

Let me draw this Mini Book to a close. The Bible clearly teaches that the responsibility to evangelise the world falls on the shoulders of every believer and there are no loopholes.

Having said that, I am cautious when I hear teaching which is peppered with “red flag” phrases like “we have to” or “we must” or “we have no choice” or “we are to do it whether we feel like it or not.” Legalism is always lurking looking for an entrance into our lives, and we ought to bar and lock all possible entry points.

But what is legalism? Legalism refers to any doctrine which states salvation comes strictly from adherence to the law. It can be thought of as a works-based religion.

I never have thought of doing evangelism as contributing to my salvation. I am absolutely clear and convinced that I am saved by grace alone, through faith alone. You ought to be too.

So how is what I have written in this Mini Book not marching everyone straight back into legalism? After all, it’s pregnant with the ‘red flag’ phrases I have just mentioned. Answer? The command 40

to evangelise the world was given by Jesus who is Almighty God. When you signed up to become a Christian you declared to Him (whether you realised it or not) “I will make you my personal Lord” (Romans 10:9-10). You invited Him to be your Master. You signed up to become His slave.44 This slave / Master relationship is not the only way our relationship with Jesus is described in the New Testament. There are others.

For example, at the point of salvation, you invited Jesus to become your commander in chief and you submitted yourself unconditionally to Him and His authority as one of His soldiers (2 Timothy 2:3).

Now when a commander of an army in the natural world gives his troops a command, he is not being legalistic. He is being their commander. When his troops joined the army, the soldiers agreed to come under his authority and to submit to him. When the commander gives commands, He is simply commanding his troops to do something upon which a great victory depends. And when the troops obey, they are simply doing what they contracted to do when they joined the army. They do not cry “legalism!” when given a command. Rather, they cry “Yes Sir!” and willingly obey (e.g John 10:27; Matthew 7:20-24).

And if his troops obey, and the commander is smart enough, and experienced enough, and has all the details of his battle strategy perfectly accurate, and the strategy is a winning one, that army will win the battle.

We in the Church ought to have no worries about whether Our Commander is smart enough, experienced enough, or whether His battle strategy is a winning one.

These things are not up for debate. They are settled. What is up 44 Literally, this is what you did! This is one of the ways the New Testament describes the relationship between Jesus and His disciples . It’s a slave / Master relationship.. Fortunately for us, Jesus is also the most loving Master in the universe.

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for debate is whether His soldiers will obey His command and not reneg on what they contracted to do when they first signed up.

Really, as I explain in Mini Book Twenty Five, our chief motive for doing evangelism ought to be to glorify Jesus. But it ought not to be our only motive. There are others. For example, when I think of my motivation for doing evangelism, I also find myself repeating what King David said in Psalm 116:12 which was “What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me?”

Shame on those who suggest that having to do evangelism is legalism! If this were so, then why not say “the command to love people is legalism!” Surely, such thoughts are inspired by the devil himself. The idea that having to do evangelism is legalism is yet another of his dirty devices.

As I bring this Mini Book to a close, I’d like you to think about all this from Jesus’ perspective. Before He came to earth and was born as a man, He lived in heaven. He left that place of perfect bliss to come to earth to die. It was essentially a rescue mission.

When He entered ministry, He suffered terribly, unimaginably, culminating in His crucifixion on a cross. He rose from the dead, and forty days later, ascended to heaven. His mission had been planned before the beginning of time. His death and resurrection are the high points of human history. How gutted He must feel to look down from heaven to see His children fighting, bickering, and arguing over whose job it is to go and tell the world what He did and what He accomplished! Surely, we have lost our minds! Surely we have become His disfunctional children! Shame on us!

The bald truth of the matter is this - our world will never be evangelised and Jesus’ mission completed unless and until every believer is active in evangelism. If we don’t return to attempting to mobilise everyone, we are going to fail with this mission. As far as failures go, nothing gets bigger than this particular failure. Period.

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ummary

• It is the responsibility of all believers to help evangelise the world.

• There is unanimous support for this truth in the scholarly world.

• Evangelism will not happen unless we are intentional about it.

• We must also be accountable to one another.

• CTION POINT: You might ask “What can I do to help get the truth in this Mini Book to others?” Help others become aware of the issues raised in this Mini Book to other Christians, particularly leaders. Email everyone on your address book and encourage them to do the same. Send them a PDF file by writing to julian@esisite.com.

• CTION POINT: Go to the leaders of your church. Ask them to make changes to their mission statement so that evangelism becomes central. Ask them to bring evangelism back to centre stage in the life of your church. Pray for them.

Encourage them.

Even if we overcome his devices just described, he does not let up. Our next challenge is to learn how to overcome fear.

Trying to instil a fear of evangelism into the Christian troops is a key tactic of the enemy.

If there is one device he employs ceaselessly in the battle for souls, it is this one.

God has taught me how to overcome fear, and I want to share my secrets with you in the next Mini Book .

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Real Life Story People Are Not Monsters Robin, a mother of three, is also a church leader.

She sent me the following email.

Hi Julian Thank you so much for coming to our church to teach and encourage us. I am so excited and challenged to do more in the area of evangelism.

I want to grow and be pushed out of my comfort zone.

In the past I have been very scared of telling people the Good News. I could talk about God and tell them that I went to church or something about what God had done for me. But the actual Good News that Jesus came for them and that they were sinners etc. was too scary to say. I was happy to pray for them too.

I would rather just do the soft approach and hope they would find God through that somehow. Well, things have changed for me. I have gone out and bought some tracts and have been thinking about what and how I will distribute them and share the good news.

I have found my Fishing Hole. A “fishing hole� is somewhere where an evangeliser goes to do evangelism on a regular basis. For 44

example, I used to live near a large shopping centre. This was my fishing hole. After a few years, I knew every inch of that centre: where people sat, when was the best time to go there; where not to go; where the best “spots” were to approach people. All good fishermen (and women) find a good fishing hole!

Ask God to show you where yours might be. It is usually close to where you work or live – or both.

Thank you. I thought you might be interested, and so I want to share some things that God has been teaching me this past week with regard to evangelism.

1. I can do a lot of praying for the lost and (speaking to the East and the West to bring them in) and I have done this. But what I really need to do as well is go and meet people, talk to them and tell them. Without this how will they know?

2.

It’s not all about me. I keep worrying about me and what I am going to say and how I will look or that I might appear stupid etc.

My fears get in the way. But God has said to me it’s not all about me and my fears, but rather it’s about the lost and what they need, and His glory.

3. We can do lots of talking and planning, strategising and more role plays and more planning. But eventually we just have to bite the bullet and go. Go and tell. Go and do it. Be bold and make the first move. Ask the Holy Spirit to help and give me a God opportunity and then take it.

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4. The first time approaching someone is the hardest one. Don’t wait and listen to the inner man of self-doubt. Just step out and do it. If you wait too long you will never approach anyone.

5. It’s all about seeing people as God sees them. See the need. At the end of the day they are just people, not monsters that will bite. Connecting with people is fun!

Julian’s comments.

What Robyn has written is just great. First, she alludes to being in a comfort zone. Most in the church are like this and their Christian walk lacks challenge, the thrill factor, and purpose. Doing evangelism provides all three. Second, Robyn mentions the inadequacy of God conversations. I have said all along, that most Christians are good at such conversations, but when it comes to giving the gospel they choke.

Sadly, many so called ‘evangelism ministries’ equate ‘God conversations’ with ‘evangelism’ when in reality nothing could be farther from the truth. She is right about ‘a fishing hole’. Usually it’s close to where you work or live. Regarding praying for the lost, but not going to them. It was Spurgeon who said “Means without prayer is presumption, but prayer without means is hyprocricy!” So true. It is interesting that Robyn said “It’s not all about me!”. Scott Cameron said the same thing in Mini Book Two. It seems that if people are going to breakthrough in evangelism, they have to come to this realisation. Really, they are only re-iterating what Paul said in Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Jesus expressed the same ‘death to self principle’ when He said “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24-25). Finally, what she says about ‘monsters’ is so true. The fact remains, that most non-Christians are hungry to hear the gospel, and the better you get at approaching them and working with them, the more you’ll see this.

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The Full List Of Books In ‘The Truth About Evangelism’ Mini Series Book One

Evangelism Lost! Exposing The True State Of Evangelism In Today’s Church

Book Two Seven Deadly Motives Exposing How The Enemy Is Shutting Down Evangelism.

Book Three

The Sorrowful Collapse Of The Great Commission- A Dangerous Redefining Of Evangelism

Book Four Evangelism Redefined? Six Subtle Yet Devastating Redefinitions Of Evangelism

Book Five Confusion Busters 7 Things You Should Know About The Gospel Message

Book Six

Six Ways To Move From Gospel Confusion To Gospel Clarity

Book Seven

The Evangelisation Of The World Is The Ulimate Purpose Of The Church. 7 Irrefutable Reasons It Is Time To Prioritise

Book Eight

A Gift, A Call, Or A Commission. Are All Christians Commanded To Evangelise

Book Nine

12 Keys To Fearless Evangelism In The 21St Century

Book Ten Take Them Down. 12 Road Blocks And How To Get Through Them

Book Eleven

The Key To Victory. Start Viewing Evangelism As An Event, Not A Process

Book Twelve

Confidence In The Gospel, Come Back! Four Essential Steps To Reclaiming Lost Ground!

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Book Thirteen Prepare To Be Amazed! What Jesus Really Taught About Evangelism!

Book Fourteen

What Leaders Must Do To Cause A Resurgence In World Evangelism

Book Fifteen

A Plan Of Action To Cause A Resurgence In World Evangelism

Book Sixteen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 1)

Book Seventeen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 2)

Book Eighteen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 3)

Book Nineteen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 4)

Book Twenty Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 5)

Book Twenty One

Climb On Board! 4 Reasons Why Doing Evangelism Will Help Create A Better World!

Book Twenty Two

Devastation! How Pseudo-Conversions Hinder Evangelism And What You Can Do To Stop The Rot!

Book Twenty Three

“Friendship evangelism.” What’s good about it, and what’s heretical?

Book Twenty Four

Unholy Grief! Five Ways Evangelists With The Gift Can Grieve The Holy Spirit

Book Twenty Five

The Highest Motive For Doing Evangelism? You’ll Be Amazed What The Bible Teaches!

Conclusion

Book Twenty Six Appendix One : If We Fail To Evangelise, We Fail. Period. By Dr K.P. Yohannan

Appendix Two : The Pastor Evangelist. By Dr. Roger S. Greenway

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Appendix Three : True Gospel Must Be Heard, By Kevyn Harris

Appendix Four : This We Believe Signatories

Appendix Five : Device 84. “I don’t like being told to do evangelism!”

Book Twenty Seven The Evangelism Fitness Test

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