BOOK 10 Take Them Down! Twelve Evangelism Road Blocks And How To Get Through Them

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

TAKE THEM DOWN! TWELVE EVANGELISM ROAD BLOCKS AND HOW TO GET THROUGH THEM

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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Take Them Down!

Twelve Evangelism Road

Blocks And How To Get Through Them.

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ware that most Christians struggle to evangelise, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Steven Shoemaker once said: “The test of a man’s conversion is whether he has enough Christianity to get it over to other people. If he hasn’t, there is something wrong in it.”1 I don’t agree entirely. I think there are many genuine believers, fine Christians, who would really want to evangelise, and would be evangelising, if they became aware of all the issues that I am raising in this Mini Book Series. They are not evangelising because they are under the influence of the devil’s devices. As such, they have been robbed of the key to experiencing ‘life and life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10).

Shoemaker is not alone in this opinion. Other Christian leaders are noting the problem of a Church which doesn’t evangelise, but very few have identified the cause. For example, Norman Nix, Director of National Ministries for the Baptist churches in Australia, observed that many Australian Christians, for one reason or another, show little interest in reaching out to people outside church.

1 Cited in: Dr Leighton Ford. The Christian Persuader. A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row, 1976, p.32

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“They do not want to come to us. Frequently, we do not want to go to them. The sad reality is that most attenders make very few attempts (or none at all) to reach out to people beyond church life, allocating most time and attention to good Christian fellowship, worship, and Christian meetings that build them up in their faith. The challenge of the Great Commission is, for the most part, ignored.”2 What Nix says here rings true doesn’t it? It’s just how it is. This is the bad news. The good news is that by identifying the devices of the enemy we can pinpoint what’s causing the issues which Nix describes, and fix them. Identifying the cause is 99% of the solution. ave you said any of these?

In this chapter I identify twelve more devices which put Christians off evangelising. Each one is a fiery dart, hurled by the enemy. How often do we hear: 1.

“When it comes to evangelising I feel inadequate and so I won’t do it. I don’t even know whether I really believe the gospel. Well, not enough to share it convincingly anyway.”

2. “Don’t you know? Saint Francis said ‘Go into the world and preach the gospel and if necessary use words.’”

3. “I think we must earn the right to speak into someone’s life before we share the gospel with them.”

4. “Leading a good life and being a positive example is the way I evangelise.”

5. “I am not confident about sharing the gospel. I might mess it up and put people off the faith. Leave it to more capable people.”

6. “My religion is a private thing. I don’t think we should go around speaking to people about the gospel, ramming it down their throats.”

7. “God is there to bless us and prosper us. Doing His will and serving His purposes is secondary.”

8. “God hasn’t told me to evangelise. Until He does, I am not going to do it.”

9. “Love is the ultimate thing. The most powerful way to express our

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2 Dr Bronwyn Hughes and Dr John Bellamy (Editors). A Passion For Evangelism. Turning Vision Into Action.

Open Book Publishers, 2004, pp.115-116

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love as Christians is to meet people’s practical needs not preach the gospel.”

10. “I shouldn’t share the gospel unless my life backs up the message.

So I am not ready yet.”

11. “I shouldn’t share the gospel if my motives are not right. I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”

12. “We should all just select one or two people we know and walk with them until they are saved. We don’t need to go to strangers.”

Satan loves to hear us saying these kinds of things – they are evidence that his devices are working. Let’s look at each in greater detail.

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EVICE # 18 To persuade Christians they are inadequate.

The feeling of inadequacy with respect to evangelising is often rooted in a simple lack of skill and confidence. The truth is, most of us feel inadequate at the thought of going to someone we don’t know – and even someone we do – to present the gospel.

On one of our evangelism training courses we had an intelligent man in his early 40s who had managed a stationery store. The day came when he had to put all his training into practise. His assignment was to approach a total stranger and “love them with the gospel.” Despite numerous evident opportunities, he walked around a crowded shopping mall for five hours, paralysed by a lack of confidence. ven great Bible heroes felt inadequate…

It is comforting, at such times, to remember the long line of biblical heroes who believed they were not up to the task to which God called them. Moses, for example, protested, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to [me]. I am slow of speech and tongue.” After reproving him, God said that He would help both Moses and his brother Aaron to speak, and would teach them what to do (Exodus 4:10-15).

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nother example is Jeremiah…

“Sovereign Lord,” he pleaded, “I don’t know how to speak; I’m only a child.”

But God rebuked him.

“Don’t say, ‘I’m only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Don’t be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you” (Jeremiah 1:6-8).

Even the great Apostle Paul acknowledged his feelings of inadequacy when it came to evangelism.

“I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling,” he confessed to the Corinthian believers. “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:3-5).

Going by what Paul is saying in this verse at least, he was terrified of evangelising. So how could he continue? He had been through a spiritual death experience: “I have been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). You see, we must come to a point at some stage where we say “Right, to heck with other people and what they think of me. I am going to be a person of no reputation. I am going to roll my sleeves up, trust God, rely on the Holy Spirit and get stuck in.” Many genuine Christians can say this at the point of their conversion. Others grow into it.

Either way, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ in the battle for souls, you’ll need your death experience - and successive ones at that - if you want your breakthrough in evangelism. ain comes before the pleasure…

Psalm 126:5-6 alludes to this death experience. Here, the Psalmist speaks of weeping at the thought of going out to evangelise. But notice the joy when he returns.

“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

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carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

Like the Psalmist, I never feel like going out to evangelise but I go anyway. I just shut out any negative thoughts or feelings and get going. I keep my legs moving until I have actually engaged a nonChristian and started ‘loving them’ with the gospel. This is what a death experience is all about. It’s about putting to death feelings and thoughts which would, if we allowed them, cause us not to evangelise.

The following are some of the thoughts and ideas which darkness will work through to instantly stop you activating in evangelism: • “What happens if a friend sees me? I might look like a religious fanatic!”

• “What happens if someone asks me a question I can’t answer? I’ll look like someone who believes in something they have not thought through properly.”

• “What happens if I have a mental block? The person I am speaking to will think I am nuts!”

• “I go to church and am a Christian but I don’t let strangers know that. If I suddenly came out of the closet, I might be laughed at. My self-esteem is low as it is!”

• “I’m a business person and my business practices have not been that great. If I shared my faith, I’d look like a hypocrite.”

• “I am in business. If I shared the gospel, I might lose the sale.’”

• “I was abused as a child and it has made me feel rejected.

Evangelism exposes me to a different kind of abuse and I won’t do it. I couldn’t handle any more rejection.”

• “I was ridiculed for being different when I was young. Evangelism puts me again in the position of being different from people in the world and in the church.”

• “I often seemed to fail when I was young. I felt I could never meet the expectations of my parents, my friends, my school or even work. Evangelism exposes me to the possibility of more failure, and so I won’t risk it.”

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It might be comforting to know that I have said many of these things to myself. They were most plentiful when I was a new Christian. s a new Christian I felt I was a complete failure with evangelism.

As a new Christian I didn’t know about Galatians 2:20. I felt completely inadequate when it came to evangelism because I continually allowed certain negative feelings and thoughts about evangelism to rule me. At least in Psalm 126:5-6 just quoted, the person got out of their house to sow the gospel. In the early days of my Christian walk, I didn’t even get that far.

The following is a very brief overview of my journey in evangelism. I was saved at university when I was 22 years old.

Soon afterwards I was told that the Christian group on campus was going to have ‘a crusade.’ I found this idea quite exciting, as I had just spent a year studying medieval Europe.

“A crusade,” I thought. “Does this mean horses, chain mail, swords, plundering and the like?” I went to the ‘crusade’ planning meeting with my interest soaring, keen to know the strategy. When I walked into the room, about 50 people were present. Everyone had their arms in the air, their heads tilted back and their eyes closed. They all seemed to be speaking gibberish, and everyone was doing it all at once. What’s all this then? I wondered. Not wanting to look out of place, I quickly joined in, but with one eye open. I put my arms up in the air like fine-tuning a TV aerial, thinking this was how Christians tuned in to God. I began to speak like the people either side of me, thinking this, too, was some kind of behaviour for ‘tuning in’ to God and getting ready for the crusade.

After some time the leader asked us all to stop, and with great authority announced: “OK, everyone, it’s time to go out! The first thing we are going to do is give out tracts!” Immediately in my mind I saw the tracks of a bulldozer or a tank, and wondered how on earth these could be part of the plan. I had not read about these weapons in my medieval studies.

Not wanting to look ignorant, I smiled and nodded and looked excited, like everyone else.

Then the leader pulled out from a box in front of him bundles of what

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looked like small booklets. We all held out our hands, and as he walked by he thrust a bundle into each of our hands. I looked at the cover on mine: Jesus loves you! shouted the big bold title.

“I want you to go around the campus giving these out,” said the leader. “And I want you to remember, God is with you!” He gave further instructions on how to do this. I tried to keep looking excited, like everyone else, but deep down I was cringing.

“I can’t do this!” I said to myself. “What if some of my friends see me?”

My mistake was to let negative thoughts and feelings rule me. If we lose this battle, we’ll lose every time.

When the time came to ‘go out’ I was last down the stairwell.

Feeling panicky and anxious, I waited at the bottom for everyone else to disappear. Then, when no one was watching, I surreptitiously threw all my tracts in the bin and went and had a coffee in the café. You see, I lost the battle in my mind when I caved in to negative thoughts and feelings.

The thought of handing out those tracts filled me with embarrassment and shame. I had enjoyed hanging out with Christians, going to church, singing and Bible study when I was first saved, but letting others outside the Christian circle know I was a Christian in such a public way filled me with anxiety and fear. For many months after conversion, when I thought about ‘going public’with my faith, I battled with these feelings.

I didn’t want to be regarded by my non-Christian friends and classmates as a religious nut or the naïve and newest member of a fanatical cult. I was exactly what Paul the Apostle exhorted us not to be: “…ashamed of the gospel” (Romans 1:16). ow to overcome inadequacy and fear of failure in evangelism…

“So how did you get from then to now?” some people have asked.

In the previous chapter I shared some of the keys I have discovered for overcoming fear in evangelism. Then in this chapter I have told you about the Galatians 2:20 principle of putting negative feelings and thoughts to the sword. Below are five more keys which will help you breakthrough in evangelism.

R ealise that our task is first and foremost to proclaim, not to convert.

Knowing that evangelism is simply the proclamation or spread of

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the gospel, I now know I don’t have to win a soul on every occasion.3 This has taken the pressure off cajoling people to make a decision, and made evangelism a more loving and pleasant endeavour. Having planted the ‘seed of the gospel’ in the hearts of non-Christians, I can leave it to God to grow it. I am going to explore this truth more in detail in chapter 11.

Realise that the gospel is a specific message with specific content.

This too takes the pressure off me. I don’t feel pressured to say something different each time.4 Use tools and resources which are proven to connect with nonChristians.

Another stress reliever is having access to tools which have been carefully thought through and “road-tested” on thousands of people.

It is a lot easier to communicate the gospel without a cringe factor if you know that the message you are giving is biblical, balanced, clear, logical, engaging - and actually works! n example of how good tools help…

Just recently I had a wonderful evangelism encounter at my home with a tradesman. I was building a small water feature in my garden, and had phoned a specialist to help me. He was due to arrive at 8am. I prepared in advance, getting my iphone5 and a follow-up booklet ready; and said a quick prayer for God to help me. We’ll call the tradesman Brian. He was in his mid-forties, stocky and handsome.

When he arrived we introduced ourselves and I showed him where I wanted the feature. Then we went inside to a whiteboard to discuss and draw plans and concepts. Wanting to create an opportunity to share the gospel, I asked him if he would like a cup of tea. He explained politely that he had a lot of quotes to do and

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3 This does not mean we never invite people to accept Christ. Clearly we ought to and I do, frequently.

4 This is not saying there is no need to adjust aspects of our approach with each person we meet. We ought to be sensitive to these and other aspects. But the essential message is the same for everyone.

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This video of the gospel can be downloaded and played on any device which can play video. For a free download, please contact Julian at julian@esisite.com. To see the video visit www.biblein11.com

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did not have time. We continued to talk about the plans. Near the end of the discussion I simply invited Brian to watch an 11 minute video which summarised the bible. He agreed. I don’t know why he agreed when a few minutes ago he said he didn’t have time.

He was attentive all the way through. At the end I asked him the final question: “If you died tonight, where would you go?” He immediately confessed “hell.”

Me: (gently and feeling Holy Spirit-inspired compassion for him) “Brian, God doesn’t want you there, I don’t want you there, and you don’t want to go there. (softly) “Brian, is there any reason why you should not turn and surrender right now?” (We are standing in my kitchen leaning against the breakfast bar. No one else is at home).

Brian: “No.” Me: (very gently) “Would you like to turn and surrender right now?”

Brian: (suddenly looking ruffled and flustered) “Mmmmmm… I don’t think I would have time to do this. I mean, if I became a Christian right now, stood here, and let all the stuff that is bothering me just drop off my life, that would be cool… but I have so much going on… mortgages to pay, bank overdrafts, wife, children, obligations (looking wistfully away, breaking eye contact… on the verge of crying). You know Julian, I feel like I’m on a treadmill. Driven. I don’t know why I’m working so hard. I don’t feel I’m very fulfilled or happy… yet I have everything.”

As he was speaking, scriptures were pouring into my mind – first, the story Jesus told of the man who built more and more barns to store his possessions and whom Jesus called a fool (Luke 12:16-21). Then the scripture which says, “we are fools if we are not rich towards God” (Luke 12:20-21). Also, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

Brian went on to tell me more things about himself. He was on a roll and wanted to talk and it was the Holy Spirit working through the gospel which did this.

He told me about the inner struggles he was having. After a long pause I felt I should speak.

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Me:

“ Brian, there was a great Christian called St Augustine who said that all of us have what he called ‘a God-shaped vacuum’ inside us.

Nothing will satisfy us until we fill this vacuum with Jesus.”

Brian: “I think you’re right. You know, this is amazing what is happening here. My Mum has just become a committed Catholic and she is full on. So has my sister. They have been on at me about this… I mean, my Mum was really committed when she was younger, and then she slipped away for a number of years. And now she has come back more committed than ever. I’m not sure why she has had this sudden change, but it’s genuine…”

Me: “Well, the truth never goes away. We can try to deny it, ignore it, run away from it… but it just stands still, unmoved and unshakable. North will always be north and south will always be south, whether we believe it or not.”

Brian: “True. Then there is my grandmother. She died of cancer last year.

Just before she died, she made this big commitment back to God… she was telling everyone about it. I have always been the odd one out in the family. All my brothers and sisters have had divorces and break-ups, but me and my wife, we’ve stayed together. Now some of my family come to me for advice. Even my Dad comes to me. By the way, he can’t handle Mum being so full-on for God. He likes to have control and now God has control. That annoys Dad (smiling). He is a Christian too but he doesn’t like competition.

Mum is not fazed at all (still smiling)…she is just going for it.

But you know, despite their differences, they have God and I don’t.

Their lives might have been messed up, but they are going on for God, and here they are coming to me for advice. It’s nice, but it doesn’t seem right, do you know what I mean? It should be the other way around… I would rather have what they have.”

Me: “I don’t want to sound spooky or anything, but as you were talking, certain bits of the Bible came strongly into my mind from Jesus about your situation. Can I tell you about them?”

Brian: (eagerly) “Yes sure, go ahead.”

I went over the verses from scripture and explained them.

(Brian looked shocked).

Me: “Brian, there are two things here. First, only God can fill the 16

hole in your heart. Second, if you first sort out the vertical, your relationship with God, put that first, get that right above all else, then God will help you with the horizontal stuff – your mortgage, your wife, your overdraft etc. God will show you where to go with all this and guide you into clear water. What He is most interested in is you, your heart… not what you can give Him - you getting on your knees before your Maker, not literally but with an attitude of the heart, and surrendering to Him.” Brian: (looking repentant) “Phew… it feels like He is here right now… or is that just me?”

Me: “ No, that’s Him all right, He is on your case…your grandmother, your sister and now your Mum…God is sweeping your whole family into His family. Do you honestly think He is going to leave you out? You might as well just get on with it. You are the head of your immediate family; your wife and children will be next.”

Brian: (thankful) “Phew! You have given me heaps to think about. This is going to be on my mind all day now!”

Me: “ How about I just pray for you before you go…”

Brian: “Please, go ahead.” (He took his cap off, bowed his head, stood to attention and clasped his hands in front of him. By this time we were standing outside on the deck.)

Me: (smiling) “It’s okay to keep your eyes open. The neighbours might be watching and they would think we are falling asleep.” Brian laughed and I prayed.

At the end of the prayer, we shook hands. He thanked me and told me he thought the video made “what Christians are on about” easy to understand. He told me he would send me a quote in the mail for the garden work and that he would read the follow-up booklet I gave him. I told him I looked forward to seeing him again when he came back to do the job.

“So much for being in a hurry,” I thought. “He would have stayed all day!” I thanked the Holy Spirit for helping me and for the utter joy and love for people with which He had newly infused me.

After such an encounter I felt I was swimming in a sea of blessing and joy. I imagined how his mother and sister would feel when they 17

knew about this. No doubt they had been fervently praying for him!

I learned many lessons about evangelism from this encounter: Each lesson will contribute to overcoming feelings of inadequacy. a. Be ready to give the gospel. Before Brian arrived, I was ready for him. b. Giving him the gospel was something I planned. Plan your evangelism. c. I prayed and asked God to help me. I didn’t need to pray for 30 minutes, although that would have been good if I’d had the time. God knew this whole episode happened quite quickly, and He honoured a short, sincere, quick prayer. d. I used road-tested tools which I knew the Holy Spirit would work through to engage Brian. e. What people say at first is not always the whole story. At first Brian said he was too busy to have a cup of tea. But when I invited him to “watch something I had put together,” he was eager. f. If you don’t read your Bible, don’t expect the Holy Spirit to bring to mind relevant Scriptures. Better still, memorise Scripture. Build a memory bank for the Holy Spirit to draw on as you talk to people. g. Don’t be “super-spiritual” in your dialogue with non-Christians.

When the Holy Spirit brought scriptures to mind, I could have said to Brian, “God spoke to me and said such and-such.” But does using such phrases help build a bridge to the person with whom we are speaking? Or does it make us sound spooky and weird? Better to err on the side of building a bridge. h. I let Brian talk and I didn’t butt in. While he was speaking, I was asking God to show me what the real issues were. i. I invited Brian to give his life to Christ there and then, but didn’t push it or demand it. If I had pushed it, I might have burnt a bridge. Sure, evaluate each person you meet case by case, but err on the side of not pushing it. Often I don’t even

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invite people to commit. Challenge? Yes. Bully? Never. j. I got further with building a relationship with Brian in this 30-minute encounter than in the hours I have spent in casual relationship with other non-Christians where I didn’t share the gospel. In my experience, sharing the gospel is the fast track to building a relationship. When we share the gospel, the Holy Spirit opens people up and they often share from their deepest core. This should not be a surprise, for the Bible says of the Word that it “is living and active, sharper than any doubleedged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). This is doubly true of the gospel (Romans 1:16). k. Brian was easier to reach than members of my own family.

This is so often the case: our immediate families can be the hardest to reach with the gospel. The prophet is not accepted in his own home town. But we can reach each other’s families.

You reach mine, and I will reach yours. So let’s both get going!

One of the great things about this encounter with Brian is that I knew he was coming back. Between now and then, I could get people praying. So in the email I said something like:

“Hi Brian, great to talk with you today. I really enjoyed meeting you and the time we had. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts about Christianity with you. Have you told your Mum or sister what happened? Have you had a chance to read the little booklet I gave you? I am interested to hear the rest of the story - and what is happening in your life. Thanks so much for sharing your heart. I felt privileged. Keep me posted. Julian.”

Now, back to the keys which will help you experience a breakthrough in evangelism.

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Make a decision to obey God, no matter what.

I came to a crisis in my faith some months after our ‘crusade’ meeting. I realised that if I was going to be a Christian, I was going to have to go public with my faith. I couldn’t just take the bits of Christianity I liked, and leave the bits I didn’t.

As I read my Bible in those early months, it became so clear to me that going into the world and proclaiming the gospel was essential.

I had joined an army, not a club. Jesus was God, not just a person. Who was I to faint at His express command? I knew that if I wanted to keep going as a Christian, I was going to have to get over these fears and worries of public exposure.

So, by God’s grace, and through His enabling and the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, I made a decision to go on every crusade and give out tracts.

This decision was my first Galatians 2:20 death experience which related to evangelism.

Over time, as I kept practising evangelising I got better at it. I lost a lot of my non-Christian friends, and maybe they did think I was a nut case.

Ultimately, I reasoned, who cares?

I knew deep down that I was doing the right thing, and this thought drew me closer to Jesus and deeper into His purposes. As Proverbs 29:25 says, “To fear anyone will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”

Learn to understand the enemy.

I can detect quickly now where the devil is working and what he is doing to stop me proclaiming the gospel; and I have specific strategies to counteract him. I am sharing these with you in this Mini Book Series.

Realise that the more you do it, the more you will want to do it.

I’ve discovered that the more I evangelise, the more I want

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to do it. The less I do, the less I want to do. People have asked, “Why don’t I feel a passion for the lost like you do?” The answer is simple: If we don’t try to reach lost people regularly with the gospel, we will eventually lose the desire completely. Jesus gives us insight into this in Luke 19:26: “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”6 Those in the Church who are dead to evangelism have usually been dead to it for a long, long time. Even the desire they had to evangelise when they were first saved has been taken away. You can break out of this cycle, if you really want to.

In The Christian Persuader, Dr Leighton Ford makes the same point: “It is as we obey Christ’s command [to evangelise] that urgency and compassion come.”7 he war is never completely over…

I don’t want to sound as though I’ve found complete victory in evangelism. I haven’t. Even now, thousands of encounters later, I still feel a tinge of fear when I think about going to reach a nonChristian with the gospel.

Why is this?

It has to do with not knowing what is going to happen. Most of us feel adequate when we wake each morning and think about the day ahead, especially when our day is fairly predictable. Yet if we have an activity planned which involves a little risk (like a job interview) we will often experience some anxiety. It is the same with evangelism. Every day I try to reach at least one non-Christian with the gospel. I can predict more or less what will happen, but realise anything could! I’ll probably never lose the ‘fear factor’ entirely.

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6 The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984, Inclusive language version 7 Dr Leighton Ford. The Christian Persuader. A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row, 1976, p.38

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And that’s not all bad, because it reminds me to be completely dependent on God. Feeling inadequate is a normal experience for Christians who are advancing spiritually. Remember the story of Joshua and the people he was leading into the Promised Land? God encouraged them to be ‘strong and courageous’ rather than terrified or discouraged. Why did He need to give them a boost? Because He knew they would feel both terrified and discouraged as they tackled things they had never done before.

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EVICE # 19 To misquote great Christians from history.

“Go into the world and preach the gospel, and, if necessary, use words.” These words, supposedly of St Francis of Assisi, have been used by the devil to discourage millions of believers from proclaiming or spreading the gospel. aint Francis never said it…

A few years ago someone used the internet8 to contact eminent Franciscan scholars, seeking the source of this “use words if necessary” quote. After an extended search, no scholar could find it, although in chapter 17 of his Rule of 1221, Francis told his friars not to preach unless they had received proper permission to do so.9 Then he added, “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.”

This misquote of St Francis has given rise to two ideas which have torpedoed evangelism: first, that we can proclaim the gospel

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8 Julie Zimmerman. Sorting Out The Truth About Francis Assisi. www.americancatholic.org/e-News/ FriarJack/fj092302.asp, 2002 9 By this he means permission from the superior of the Monastry to which they were joined, or to the priest of the church to which they belonged. This is consistent with Catholic theology which places a premium on submitting to the authority of the priest. Protestants have been freed from this authority structure. Our only authority is Jesus Christ. He said “All authority under heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go!” Not only do we already have the authority to preach at all all times, but we have been commanded to do so.

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without using words (which is impossible), and secondly, that using words should be a last resort (which is unbiblical). Saying “Preach the gospel and if necessary use words” is like saying “Feed the hungry, and if necessary, use food” or “Clothe the naked, and if necessary, use clothes.”

As a result of the circulation of the St Francis misquote, millions of believers justified non-participation in evangelism.

If Saint Francis had thought for a moment that his Rule 1221 would lead to this result, he would have shuddered. His intention was to remind us of the importance of good works as a vital part of our Christian witness which is something I detail extensively in Mini Book Eleven. aint Francis would not have contradicted Jesus…

Francis was no heretic. He would not have contradicted the clear command of Jesus to use words to express the gospel (Mark 16:15). In fact we can be sure that he and his followers were staunch evangelisers. How do we know this?

The late Dr Lewis Drummond, former President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an authority on the life of St Francis, writes: “In early manhood, [Francis] searched for thrills and sensual pleasures; but after the disillusionment of an illness and a subsequent crisis he came to vital faith in Jesus Christ. Immediately he preached Christ in purity. Disciples soon began to gather about Francis and an order was established. The disciples fanned out all over Italy and into other parts of the Roman Empire to preach.

The spirit of evangelism [the proclamation of the gospel] so gripped all the disciples of the Franciscan order that they learned the languages of the nations and travelled throughout the Empire sharing Christ.”10

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10 Dr Lewis A Drummond. The Word Of The Cross: A Contemporary Theology Of Evangelism. Broadman Press, 1992, p.77

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he Franciscan monks were relentless proclaimers…

Another scholar adds: “Writing his first Rule in 1209, 27-year-old Francis called on his followers to preach to and convert Muslims: ‘Let any brother who desires by divine inspiration to go among the Saracens and other non-believers, go with the permission of his minister and servant.’ Francis, a radical who had renounced his father’s wealth to embrace a lifestyle of poverty and relentless preaching, sent his first missionary to one of the crusader states in Syria in 1217. Two years later he commissioned six more men to go to Morocco. News eventually filtered back that five of the friars reached Morocco and began preaching in the streets, but they were decapitated by angry Muslims.”11 hey wanted to keep words and works together…

It’s obvious the Franciscans put evangelism at the forefront.

Yes, they ministered to the practical needs of the poor, as per Rule 1221, but they never abandoned the proclamation of the gospel, the priority of their ministry.

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EVICE # 20 To persuade Christians they must earn the right to speak into someone’s life before sharing the gospel with them.

This implies we cannot share the gospel with a non-Christian before certain conditions have been met. For example, before we have built a relationship, been good examples as Christians, been loving and caring, shown we are genuine in our faith, been praying for them, have earned their respect, have served them in some way, and so on.

In another book on evangelism which I read recently, the author unwittingly promoted this device.

He said, “In Luke 10, we read how Jesus gave His disciples 11 Steven Gertz. Christian History. May 2002, v21 i2 p.28(3)

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some clear instructions for their outreach work. He told them first to be a blessing wherever they went, (‘speak peace’), then to build relationships with people (‘eat and drink’), then to meet people’s needs (‘heal the sick’) and finally to preach the gospel of the Kingdom.”12 Indeed, this idea has a ring of truth. But there is massive error here. es, we ought to walk the talk…

It’s true that our Christian witness ought to be credible, and that we should ‘walk the talk.’ Certainly we ought to respect people’s feelings and life situations as we interact with them.

We do want to share the gospel out of our love for others and for God, although not as a way to earn divine brownie points.

But there is no biblical basis for the idea that unless we are someone’s friend, or have built a relationship with them, have served them in some way, we have no right to share the gospel with them.

Jesus simply told the disciples to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel (Mark 16:15), and He gave them the authority to do so. As believers we all have that same authority.13 e have the same authority as Jesus…

The Lord told His followers, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of

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12 Reference details intentionally omitted.

13 It is also true that in some situations, we do have to build trust with groups or individuals we are working with. This is especially true where we want to develop a long term relationship. Take the ministry reaching out to prostitutes for example. Many prostitutes have become cynical and sceptical about people. To reach them, and to develop a long term relationship with them, trust must first be established. It’s the same with the people we work with, or our neighbours. Sometimes it is wise to ‘go slowly,’ developing relationship and trust first, because we know we are going to see them again and again. In such situations, we must discern the right time to share the gospel. Having said this, the danger is that the friendship and relationship can become so good that we feel sharing the gospel might spoil things, and we don’t end up sharing the gospel! In this way, ‘we must first develop trust before we share the gospel’ becomes a cop-out for not evangelising. When this happens, we have lost vital ground in the battle for souls.

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the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). e have the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit…

At the same time He encouraged them with these words: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). When Jesus said these things (e.g. in Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:18-19 and Acts 1:8) He would have known that the disciples would be speaking to complete strangers.

The authority of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit are all we need as believers and we have them both.

As well as this, and in Mini Book Thirteen, I give another five reasons why the idea “we must earn the right to speak into the lives of non-Christians before we share the gospel with them” is not a biblical one. In the meantime, here are some more arguments which expose this device for what it is - a lie. he disciples didn’t win the respect of their audiences…

Now look at Matthew 10. Jesus told the disciples to expect persecution, arrest, imprisonment, rejection, betrayal and even death. From this we may conclude they did not win the respect of their audience before they proclaimed the gospel. Remember, too, that ten of the twelve apostles ended their lives as martyrs.14 The exceptions are John and Judas. The ten apostles lost their lives not because they were respected, but because they were viewed as bitter enemies. They died preaching the gospel. ou don’t kill your friends…

John Foxe wrote in his famous book, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs: “Nearly all the [apostles] and evangelists [who wrote the gospels] died martyrs’ deaths, after living lives of toil and hardship while preaching the gospel of Christ to the heathen world.” 15 If we believe the idea that we must earn the right to speak into the life of

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14 John Foxe. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Moody Press, Morgan and Scott, 1907, p24-35 15 ibid, p24

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a non-Christian before we share the gospel with them, we naturally jump to the conclusion that we must make friends first. So how true is it that the early Christians used the strategy “make friends first, then share the gospel afterwards.” Let’s do a quick study of the words “friends” in the New Testament.

The word friends is used five times in the book of Acts, but never in regard to evangelism. A more typical use of the word friends is found in 1 Peter 2:11. Peter says to the churches, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world…” Clearly the early Christians did not see themselves as fitting comfortably into their society.

Radically different, in fact counter-cultural, they were on a mission of global takeover and whether they were accepted or rejected did not matter. As a commissioned people, they proclaimed the gospel regardless.

In Hebrews 11, the great ‘who’s who’ of faith, some Old Testament believers also described themselves as “aliens and strangers on earth” (verse 13). Aliens and strangers? It doesn’t sound like they made a priority of making friends. he indications are that Jesus didn’t view establishing a friendship as a necessary prerequisite to successful evangelism.

We know Jesus made friends with some people. In Matthew 11:19, for example, He is described as “…a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet He did not seem to address by name many of the people He preached to and healed.

Think about it. If they had been His friends, don’t you think He would have done this? Isn’t this what friends usually do. The man with leprosy is a good example.

“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged Him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man.

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“I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him” (Luke 5:12-13). It was the same with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He didn’t address her by her first name, which is something friends would naturally do. It is clear Jesus had no prior relationship with many of the people He spoke to. rior relationship is not a prerequisite to effectiveness…

Furthermore, He went from town to town preaching the gospel, teaching and healing. Itinerant preachers can and do develop deep friendships with certain people but not with the whole crowd.

Yet many people who heard Jesus preach committed their lives to Him. Many thousands of people have been saved at Billy Graham crusades, yet he had no prior friendship or relationship with the vast majority of them.

In Acts 2, Peter preached the gospel and 3000 were saved. It is unlikely he was friends with all of them. Most of the people with whom I have shared the gospel have been complete strangers. Yet more than 98 percent of those encounters were wonderful “God moments.”

We have to conclude that the idea that we must make friends with non-Christians or gain their respect before we share the gospel with them in order to win them to Christ is not a biblical one. I discuss more about why this is so in detail in Mini Book Thirteen.

The untapped pool of total strangers can be reached effectively with the gospel without the need to develop prior relationships.

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EVICE # 21 To convince us that leading a good life and being a positive example for others are alternative ways of evangelising.

No one would argue that leading a good life and being a positive example aren’t critically important aspects of a desirable 28

Christian life. The problem is that the devil has been seeding this thought into the minds of Christians for such a long time that such things are alternative ways of evangelising. Many like to quote 1 Peter 2:11 – 5:11 where Peter shows how Christian living can powerfully and positively influence non-Christians for Christ. On that basis many people say, “I don’t need to be explicit. If I live the Christian life, people will see Jesus in me and be drawn to Him.” ake sure you connect your good works with Jesus…

Commenting on the subtle blend of truth and error in this reasoning, Theologian John Chapman writes that while godly living is critical for all Christians (Romans 8:29), it is not the whole picture.

“People will certainly recognise that Christians are different if they live the Christian life. They will not, however, be able to work out why they are different.

In a godly community, well-instructed in the Bible, and where goodness is associated with God, the connection is clear.

In other communities it remains ambiguous. It is true that goodness and kindness cannot be hidden, and love and gentleness are appreciated, but God will hardly ever be seen to be the cause of these unless explanation is given. That explanation must be the gospel.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). I have found that godly behaviour is hardly ever associated with God. When people “let their light shine before others,” God is not necessarily glorified.

What usually happens is that they themselves are glorified. The gospel needs to be heard as well as seen in action so that God will indeed be glorified. The hearing and seeing make a powerful

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combination.”16 Samuel Shoemaker makes an excellent comment on the inadequacy of relying only on the witness of a good life: “I cannot, by being good, tell [people] of Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection, nor of my faith in His divinity. The emphasis is too much on me and too little on Him. Our lives must be made as consistent as we can make them with our faith; but our faith, if we are Christians, is vastly greater than our lives. That is why the ‘word’ of witness is so important.”17 I concur with Shoemaker completely.

However, the main reason to reject the idea that leading a good life and being a positive example for others are alternative ways to evangelise is that they outrightly contradict Scripture.18 Both good living and evangelising are vital aspects of Christianity, but as I have already sought to make clear in this book, if the words of the gospel have not been proclaimed or spread, no evangelism has taken place.

DEVICE # 22 To persuade Christians that they are incompetent in evangelism so they will say nothing.

The devil will whisper in the ears of Christians, “You know you’ll be no good at evangelising, so don’t even try it. If you do, you’ll muck it up, and put non-Christians off! It’s better not to try at all. Leave it to the experts.” The devil does not want you to know that ‘the experts’ are people who started out incompetent in evangelism, but learned how to do it. You see, the skill to evangelise can be learned.

In our ministry we have seen people full of the fear of ‘messing up’ begin training in evangelism, and with support, and the application of the other attitudes and keys I have shared in this 16 John Chapman. Know And Tell The Truth: The Why And How Of Evangelism. Hodder and Stoughton, 1991, pp.43-44 17 Cited in Dr Leighton Ford. A New Look At Evangelism Today. Harper and Row, 1976, p.8 18 For a more in-depth discussion on why good works are not to be equated with evangelism, see Mini Book Three, What is evangelism?

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book, they finish as competent and confident evangelisers.

Proverbs 13:11 says “He who gathers money little by little makes it grow.”19 All Christians are capable of evangelising20 but not all are equally capable. Where capability is low, extra training is needed and God’s grace is sufficient. With coaching, anyone can evangelise with love, grace, skill and tenderness.

I ministered recently at a camp for Christians with physical and mental disabilities and was amazed at their zeal and determination to share the gospel.

One person who suffered from cerebral palsy went evangelising regularly in his wheelchair. The only words he could get out were, “Please read this” as he handed out tracts. His zeal for the lost was amazing!

You see, it’s not how clever or smart we are, it’s what’s in our hearts. The good news is that I have seen many times how God will use our feeling of incompetence to work through us in a more powerful way.

How so? Time and again I have heard of people who have gone out for the first time to give the gospel to a stranger, terrified of messing up, and God has led them sovereignly to someone who is open and appreciative. Paul tells us how the Lord assured him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” So Paul determined to “boast all the more gladly” about his weakness, so that Christ’s power might rest on him (2 Corinthians 12:9). Conclusion? I think God sees our weakness and fears and meets our need with a special outpouring of His grace.

Jesus was not joking when He said He’d be with us even to the end of the Age (Matthew 28:20).

19 Although this verse applies to money, the ‘little by little’ principle could also apply to any activity where

skill is gained through practise. We could say ‘little by little, great skill in evangelism can be acquired.

20 Some will struggle to verbalise the gospel, but almost everyone can hand out tracts or www.biblein11.com business cards. Those who really can’t do these things can still play a vital role in evangelism by praying, giving financially etc.

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on’t focus on what could go wrong - get training and keep asking God for the fresh empowering of the Holy Spirit…

If I wanted to be a pilot, I would not let the thought of crashing put me off flying when I first started. I would understand that with training I could eventually fly a plane with such competence that the possibility of crashing would be virtually eliminated. The skill of evangelism is learned similarly.

If you practise and become unconditionally committed to being trained, not taking setbacks personally and not focussing on what might go wrong, leaning on and trusting in the Holy Spirit, you will eventually be able to evangelise with such skill that your spiritual

plane will not crash. od will use our genuine efforts, however feeble they might be…

Many times I’ve seen God use the unpolished but genuine efforts of the least capable novice in evangelism to impact the lives of non-Christians. Ultimately it is neither our skill nor ability which effects salvation – or impacts the non-Christian world.

It is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit working through the gospel as we deliver it, however feebly.

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DEVICE # 23 To persuade us our faith is a private matter.

This is a not-so-subtle attack of the devil, and genuine Christians will see through it quickly.

Given that the Bible is our final authority for faith and conduct, any idea that clearly contradicts Scripture can soon be dismissed.

The New Testament has many commands to publicly proclaim our faith, and so “private Christianity” is actually an oxymoron.

How did Jesus teach that it was impossible to be a private Christian? He said to His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

To preach is to speak. So if we are true to Jesus, Christianity cannot be private. Notice, too, that Jesus told us to go into ‘all the 32

world’ not the little world of a few of our select friends and family.

He did not tell us to go privately to one or two of our closest friends and those we know who will accept us.

Going to everyone means going public and going boldly. he Bible is clear – genuine Christians will not have a private faith…

Read carefully Jesus’ words: “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops” (Matthew 10:27). Proclaiming from the rooftops is hardly the mark of a private person with a private faith.

Then there are the words of Paul: “If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

The Greek word for “confess” here is omologeo which means “to declare openly, speak out freely.” If a person declares openly that Jesus is their personal Lord, they will certainly be obeying His commands, chief of which is evangelising the world.

It would appear impossible to love Jesus and at the same time keep our beliefs and convictions private. The Lord warns us not to hesitate on this issue, not for one moment: “Those who acknowledge Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). He seems to be saying that the public confession of our faith is a mark of its genuineness. “All who are ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).

Do not let the world silence you…

George Barna, a world expert in evangelism research, notes how the idea of a private religion has been accepted by many believers with disastrous results.

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“The world’s greatest gift [the gospel] is now faced with becoming the world’s greatest secret,” he says. “…Many of the people whom Christ is counting on to spread the light of salvation throughout a spiritually-darkened nation have largely succumbed to pressures from the target population itself to maintain a reverent silence about a matter as personal as spiritual beliefs.”21 A “private faith” might be possible with some religions, but not Christianity.22 Since Jesus and the apostles were bold public proclaimers of the gospel, we who stand in their line and under their authority are called to do the same.

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EVICE # 24 To persuade us that God is there primarily to bless us and prosper us. Doing His will and serving His purposes are secondary.

Believe it or not, there are some Christians who believe this device to be true. They have come to believe that God is there for them, to rubber stamp and bless their plans and ambitions and that serving Jesus and His purposes is secondary and optional.

It’s not hard to see how this device would knock anyone who believes it out of getting stuck into the evangelisation of the world.

For evangelising is not about us at all. It’s about God and His purposes and glory, and being used by Him to help the person to whom we are giving the gospel to be reconciled to Him. What we get out of it is secondary.

This device is so far off what the New Testament teaches, it’s hardly worth exposing. However, because some people believe it, we’d better deal with it.

21 George Barna. Evangelism That Works. Regal, 1995, p.24 22 There are always exceptions of course. In some countries and places, Christians are forced to be secret about their Christianity, as in the underground churches in Communist or Muslim countries. The difference between these Christians and Christians in the West that have a “private faith” is that one wants to proclaim the gospel but cannot, while the other has freedom to proclaim but chooses not to.

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All the way through the four gospels, Jesus teaches that He is Lord. What does this mean? It means He is the absolute boss of the universe, of everything seen and unseen, whether we acknowledge Him or not. Of course, for non-Christians He is not acknowledged as their boss. It will not be until they get to the other side of death that this acknowledgment will come.

What about Christians? What does “Jesus is Lord” mean to us?

It simply means that we willingly and continually try to make Him our personal and absolute boss. At the point of our conversion, we confess “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9) which means “Jesus, I want You to be the absolute boss of my life. Whatever You want, I’ll do.

Whatever is Your purpose will become my purpose. Whatever is Your priority will become my priority. My life is no longer mine, it’s Yours. Do with me whatever You wish.” Paul had made Jesus the absolute boss of His life so He was able to say: “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” Romans 14:8-9 A wonderful poem about what it’s like to make Jesus Lord has been written by H. C. G. Moule (1841-1920) the Bishop of Durham.

He was an acute scholar and a powerful communicator. It’s worth reading this poem carefully, prayerfully, and slowly because in it the heart of a true believer is beautifully described.

My glorious Victor, Prince Divine, Clasp these surrender’d hands in Thine; At length my will is all Thine own, Glad vassal of a Saviour’s throne.

My Master, lead me to Thy door; Pierce this now willing ear once more: Thy bonds are freedom; let me stay With Thee, to toil, endure, obey.

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Yes, ear and hand, and thought and will, Use all in Thy dear slav’ry still!

Self’s weary liberties I cast Beneath Thy feet; there keep them fast.

Tread them still down; and then, I know, These hands shall with Thy gifts o’erflow; And pierced ears shall hear the tone Which tells me Thou and I are one.

Clearly, the sentiments and thoughts expressed in this poem are a far cry from “God is there for me, to rubber stamp and bless my plans and ambitions and serving Jesus and His purposes is secondary and optional.”

Walking in the Lordship of Jesus is THE major key to experiencing success with evangelism because when we make Him Lord, we’ll count it an honour to suffer for Him, just like the Early Christians did. Nothing will be too much trouble and no device will be able to influence us. ount it worthy to suffer for the gospel…

The truth is, the Early Church Christians considered it a badge of honour to suffer for Him: “His speech persuaded them.

They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the gospel that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 5:40-42).

Not only were the apostles not embarrassed, but they gave themselves a high five after suffering – and the whole exercise produced in them a greater desire to evangelise. on’t expect it to be easy…

The truth is, once in a while someone will reject us when we attempt to present them with the gospel. Yes, we’ll suffer. Let’s

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become good at accepting this. Look what Paul went through as he proclaimed the gospel: “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Look at the suffering Jesus went through for us. And remember the martyrs, including the first century Christians, who were killed for their faith.

“Besides being put to death, they [the Christians] were made [by the Emperor Nero] to serve as objects of amusement. They were clad in the hides of beasts and torn to death by dogs. Others were crucified and others set on fire to illuminate the night when daylight failed…”23 Let’s be proud of our heritage, and inspired by their example…

How does our little bit of suffering for the cause of evangelising the earth compare with the suffering of millions of witnessing Christians over past centuries? As I have said, we ought to accept suffering for the gospel like a badge of honour.24 Relative to eternity, we only have to suffer for a short period of time.

As the apostle Peter reminds us: “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what 23 Rose Dowsett. The Great Commission. Monarch Books, 2001, p.70 24 As long as it is the gospel that is causing the offence, and not ourselves, as evangelists, due to our insensitivity, brashness, pride or arrogance!

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they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:13-15).

Three of the most sobering verses in all the bible which relate to the discussion we are having here are Matthew 7:21-23. These verses speak of people who are busy with ‘church’ things, but who never made Jesus Lord: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” For a genuine believer, ‘doing God’s will’ is primary, not secondary.

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EVICE # 25 To persuade us that God sometimes says things to us personally that contradict what is written in the Bible.

I have heard many Christians make statements such as these: • “God has told me that if I don’t want to share the gospel I don’t have to.”

• “God has told me that evangelising is not my gift.”

• “God has told me not to proclaim the gospel but rather to let my light shine.”

• “God has told me not to proclaim the gospel but just to love people.”

• And so on... rivate revelations must be put to the test…

These are examples of ‘private revelations.’ Anyone who accepts ‘a private word’ from God which contradicts Scripture is naïve indeed. If a Christian says, “God has told me not to

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evangelise,” and the Bible says “evangelise,” the source of this ‘private revelation’ cannot be from God. The voice might be from the devil, our subconscious mind, or it might be the words of a well- meaning ‘friend’ telling us horror stories about evangelism.

But it is not from God. If a ‘word’ or impression clearly contradicts Scripture, then it must be from a source other than the Bible.

In Mini Book Eight we established that evangelism is the responsibility and privilege of all Christians. So why would God tell a Christian not to evangelise when He has already said the opposite in Scripture? He does not say one thing in the Bible and then contradict it in private. ometimes it is wise not to evangelise…

There may, however, be plausible explanations why a Christian might say, “God hasn’t told me to evangelise” in a particular situation. In some situations, I have felt impressed by the Holy Spirit not to share the gospel because to do so would be inappropriate and insensitive. Exercising wisdom in this way is quite different from not wanting to share the gospel at all because “God hasn’t told me to evangelise.” The latter is just a cop-out.

In my thirty years as an evangelist, I could count on one hand the number of times I have been impressed not to share the gospel.

Anyone who accepts ‘a word from God which contradicts Scripture has succumed to yet another device of the devil.

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EVICE # 26 To persuade us that “Love is the ultimate thing” and that the greatest way to show our love for non-Christians is not to preach the gospel but to meet their practical needs.

Truth and error are so subtly blended here that the error is hard to detect.

It is true that “…the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 39

13:13) and that without love our fine words amount to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).

It is also true that meeting someone’s practical needs is a powerful expression of Christian love and that we are all called to express love in this way. So where is the error in this device?

People who assert that meeting people’s practical needs is the greatest way to show love have got it wrong, for what is every person’s greatest need? Surely, it’s their salvation. 1 John 4:10 makes it clear that the greatest way to ‘love’ the unchurched is help them reconcile to God: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” In effect God is saying through this verse “The epitome of my love was most clearly expressed when my Son died for the lost on the Cross. If you help the lost find forgiveness through His atoning sacrifice, you too will have loved like my Son did when He died on the cross. You will have done the most loving thing a Christian can do for another person.”

Evangelist Ray Comfort tells a story which exhorts us to put first things first.

“A child who was running through a wooded area fell onto a sharp stick and cut his jugular vein. His father immediately swooped him up and pressed his thumb to the boy’s neck in an effort to stop the blood gushing while he rushed him to the hospital. In the emergency room, the child showed the surgeon a small splinter he had received in his thumb when he fell and begged the doctor to remove it. Of course the surgeon ignored the child’s plea and began work to stop the life-threatening injury to the boy’s neck. Modern evangelism preaches a message that calls sinners to come to God for their “splinters” rather than for that which is life-threatening.

It tells people that God will heal problems with marriages, drugs, alcohol and so on, when the real reason they should come to the Saviour is that their life’s blood is gushing from their throat. They 40

are in debt to eternal justice.

It’s as if a devious criminal might say to the judge, “I know I’m guilty of rape and murder, your Honour, but I have an important personal problem that I think the court needs to deal with first.”

God’s priority is to deal with the fatal wound of sin before He even looks at the splinters of personal problems. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, (Matthew 6:33). All other issues are temporal.”25 or Jesus, saving the soul was priority…

The New Testament appears to have three broad categories of concerns about people: 1. Practical concerns to do with the body, including the mind and emotions.

2. Character concerns to do with the heart.

3. Eternal concerns to do with the soul.

While Jesus was concerned with and addressed all three, which do you think He was most concerned about? I suggest it was the third category. For example: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

“What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul?”

(Matthew 16:26).

“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye than to

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25 Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. The Way Of The Master. How To Share Your Faith Simply, Effectively, Biblically, The Way Jesus Did. Tyndale Books, 2003, pp.17-18

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have two eyes and be thrown into hell” (Mark 9:43-47). From these verses we have to conclude that Jesus is teaching that nothing is more valuable than the human soul, not even the combined value of everything in the world.

Do we have the same priorities as Jesus in our ministries or are we out of sync with Him? inister to the whole person, yes, but make every effort to secure the soul…

When we meet the practical needs of people, we are, generally speaking, ministering to their bodies. But how concerned are we about securing their souls? Jesus summarised His Mission this way: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15).

Jesus could have summarised the purpose of His coming in other ways: “I came to feed and clothe the hungry” “I came to heal people of diseases and infirmities” “I came to establish praise and worship” “I came to establish prayer meetings” His ministry, in fact, included all these things and so should ours, but His bottom line was, and still is, the evangelisation of the world for the glory of His name. e loving – proclaim the gospel…

We discovered in Mini Book Seven that evangelism is the priority. We already know that one of the foundational attributes of the nature of God is that He is love. Would a God of love set a priority which was out of sync with His nature? You know the answer.

Make no mistake – when it comes to ‘being loving’, proclaiming the gospel is the highest expression of Christian love. Yes, it’s agape love in action.

Listen to the wise words of Dr John Stott: “The sight of the need and the possession of the means with which to meet it together place

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us in a position of solemn obligation. We have not only seen man’s spiritual need, but we have that which can meet it: not this world’s goods, but the knowledge of the gospel. God has made us trustees of the gospel for the benefit of others; we cannot keep its blessings to ourselves. It is the acme of callous selfishness to withhold the knowledge of the gospel from those who are perishing for lack of it.

Now, if we do not see, or feel, or seek to relieve the great spiritual need of our fellow men, there is only one conclusion to be reached.

Not only are we disobedient to the command of Christ, but God’s love does not dwell in us. Indeed, we have reason to ask ourselves if we have ever been born from above.”26 These are strong words. ove your neighbour…

Spurgeon contends that loving God, loving people and evangelising are inseparable. In fact, the greatest way to express our love for God and love for people is to explain the gospel to people because it holds the potential of changing their eternal destiny.

He uses the first and second Great Commandments as the basis of his discussion. “The love of God is first, but this by no means lessens the obligation of love to [people]. In fact the first command includes the second. We are to seek our neighbours’ conversion because we love them, and we are to speak to them in loving terms God’s loving gospel, because our heart desires their eternal good.”27 Look for the spiritual need of non-Christians and do something about it…

James 2:16 says: “If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” Commenting on this verse, the Puritan Richard Baxter compares the attention we give to those with physical and practical needs with the attention we give to people’s spiritual needs. “If it may be said of him that relieveth not men’s bodies, how

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26 Dr John Stott. Motives And Methods In Evangelism. IVP, 1973, pp.8-10 27 Charles H Spurgeon. The Soul Winner. Focus Publication, 1992, p.14

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much more of him that relieveth not men’s souls: ‘If you see your brother in need?’ You are not such hard-hearted men but you will pity a leper; you will pity the naked, imprisoned or desolate; you will pity him that is tormented with grievous pain and sickness; and you will not pity an ignorant, hard-hearted sinner. Will you not pity one who must be shut out from the presence of the Lord? What multitudes round about you are blindly hastening to perdition – and your voice is appointed to be the means of reclaiming them! Oh, then for the Lord’s sake and for the sake of poor souls, have pity on them and bestir yourselves and spare no pains that may conduce to their salvation.”28 ouls are worth fighting for…

In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19), Jesus indicates that the eternal destiny of the human soul is of utmost importance. Over and over, throughout the Gospels, He is concerned about securing the soul – at all costs.

Why? First, He does not want anyone to go to hell. There are three things we know about hell: those who go there will be alone (James 1:17)29, they will be in pain (Matthew 8:12) and they will be there forever (Matthew 25:46). Knowing this, how can we meet a person’s practical needs over and above a concern for their eternal salvation?

Second, saving the soul is primary because He created us and adores us. In our unsaved state, we are like wayward children, hence the prodigal son story. When we are saved, we come home.

Third, when people are reconciled to Christ, He is glorified.

Fourth, as you’ll discover in Mini Book Twenty, God works through redeemed people to bless society so the more who are redeemed the more society will be blessed.

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28 Cited in: Dr John Stott. Motives And Methods In Evangelism. IVP, 1973, p.8 29 If every good thing we have comes from God, and one of the good things of God is ‘relationships,’ and hell is a place where the goodness of God is absent, then there can be no ‘relationships’ in hell.

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In summary, to love someone from a Christian perspective is to meet not just their practical needs but also their great spiritual need. It is to make a priority of saving their soul. God appointed the gospel for this very purpose (Romans 1:16).

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EVICE # 27 To persuade us we should not share the gospel unless our life backs up the message.

Every genuine Christian wants their life to back up their message. However, the devil has infiltrated the minds of some by whispering in their ear, “Hey, your life is not perfectly right now so you can’t share the gospel. If you did, you’d be a hypocrite – and you know how much Jesus hates those kinds of people!”

This is a very dirty trick of the devil. Let’s unravel his darkness.

Is the above claim true? The answer is yes and no. hinking it through…

In the natural realm, if a wheat farmer wakes up in a bad mood, shouts at his children, yells at his wife, and kicks the cat on the way out of the door as he goes to work, will the wheat seed he plants that day not grow because his private life was not up to scratch? You know the answer.

What’s the message? The gospel will still ‘work’ even if the life of the one delivering it is not perfect.

The truth is, under the blazing scrutiny of God’s holiness, practically speaking, no one is living perfectly before God. If only those who lives were perfect could effectivley share the gospel, none us would qualify to evangelise. The evangelisation of the world would never ever start.

Lest you think I am advocating that it’s OK to live an unholy life, check out 2 Timothy 2:20-21 which says, “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes,

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made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

Clearly, living a holy, Godly life matters to God and ought to matter to us. I have found that when I am closest to Jesus and walking in practical holiness, I seem to have more authority and power when I am evangelising. owever…

If we know are lives are not right we should still proclaim and spread the gospel. The following story illustrates what I am talking about here.

Bill30 is one person whose lifestyle was not in harmony with the message he was preaching, but his heart was right, which is what really mattered. On a ministry trip to America I was approached by Bill, who asked if he could have lunch with me. I agreed. When we met, Bill confessed that he was struggling with pornography.

His pastor knew about it and was helping him. Bill expressed his passion to proclaim the gospel. His critical question to me was this: “Can I still proclaim the gospel even though I am struggling with pornography?” My answer was an emphatic “yes.”

Who of us would qualify to minister in any capacity if we had to wait until our lives were perfect? Furthermore, I believe God sanctifies us and cleans us as we go about His work.

Sanctification does not happen in a sinless vacuum. Doing the work of the Lord has a cleansing, maturing, renewing effect on our spiritual lives.

It is so critical to walk in the freedom of the grace of Jesus. No soldier who is warring for souls will last long in the battle without walking in the reality and fullness of the grace of God. We need to be constantly reassured God will use us in spite of our shortcomings and weaknesses.

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30 Not his real name.

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EVICE # 28 To persuade us we should not share the gospel unless our motives are right.

First, the truth: we do want our motives to be right. Our motive for sharing the gospel should not be to earn favour with God, or win the praise of the pastor or leadership, or “put another notch on the belt.” The highest motive to evangelise is to glorify God. I talk more about this in Mini Book Twenty Three. t’s who you are that matters, not what you do…

As one prominent pastor put it: “Remind [people] that their value, significance and identity comes from who they are, not what they do. When your value comes from what you do, your motive for faith sharing becomes toxic. You can begin to look at your success as an evangelist as the source of your identity, significance and recognition. Faith sharing can become a source of affirmation to feed your ego.”31 f you wait until your motives are perfect, you’ll be dead before doing any evangelism…

The fact is, it is not possible to have perfect motives. Even when we think we have them, really we don’t. How do we know this?

God clearly said through Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV). Sometimes I don’t feel like reaching lost people with the gospel and I feel little love in my heart for them. Yes, I don’t feel as if my motives are right, but I go anyway.

Here is the point: the wrong motives I might have prior to evangelising are cleansed and purified as I go about doing it. In Philippians 1:18 Paul alludes to this truth when he says “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” What’s the

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31 Cited in: Dr Bronwyn Hughes and Dr John Bellamy. A Passion For Evangelism. Turning Vision Into Action.

Open Book Publishers, 2004, p.155

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message? If you feel like your motives are not right, don’t let this stop you from evangelising. If you did, you’d be succumbing to the 28th device of the enemy.

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EVICE # 29 To persuade us we should not share the gospel with strangers. We should befriend one or two people and walk with them until they become Christians. Why? This enables them to witness our life not just hear our message. The success of our gospel message is dependent on people witnessing the authenticity of our lives.

This is a curly device and one which I hear suprisingly often. It’s one we need to expose and dismiss.

Let’s say Pete, a Christian, shares the gospel with a total stranger called Andrew, the non-Christian guy sitting next to him on a plane.

Andrew has no chance to observe Pete’s lifestyle or his character. In fact, Pete spends most of the flight sleeping and is not even awake long enough to demonstrate any Christian good works. Andrew returns to his home town where he observes the good lives and good works of other Christians.

The point is, Pete’s Christian lifestyle is important for those in his own neighbourhood, but it is not relevant to Andrew. The way Pete lives his beliefs is critical to those observing him at his work, with his friends and family, and in his community, but not to total strangers whom he meets only briefly.

This example of Andrew and Pete illustrates that the process of drawing a non-Christian to Christ is a team event involving the whole Christian community. Paul alludes to this: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). With this device, Pete would be the one who had to plough Andrew’s heart, sow the seed, and 48

water it. This is neither practical nor biblical.

How so?

1. It’s unbiblical because Jesus specifically said to reach everyone with the gospel, and if we all only focussed on one or two people, achieving what Jesus said would be impossible. Jesus doesn’t set goals for us which are impossible to achieve.

2. It contradicts what Jesus taught in Mark 4:26-29 about how the Holy Spirit works through the gospel to save people. I talk about this in detail in Mini Book Thirteen. In short, Jesus taught in this parable that the seed of the gospel once planted will grow in and of itself, outside of any external influence. To use the illustration of Andrew and Pete again, Andrew didn’t need to see Pete’s lifestyle in order for God to save him. Hearing the gospel would have been sufficient.

3. It smacks of a certain arrogance because it suggests that one doesn’t need God in the process of drawing people to Christ and that our good works and lifestyle are sufficient to convert people. Even if we walk with someone all their lives and exemplify a wonderful Christian life, and they hear the gospel, these factors alone do not guarantee conversion.

Why? Because salvation is from first to last the domain of God (e.g. Ephesians 2:8-10; John 6:65).

4. What happens if the one or two people we have chosen to pour our lives into just didn’t want to be saved? And what happens if all the others we were commanded to give the gospel to, and didn’t, did want to be saved? And wanted to hear the gospel? That is to say, they needed to hear the gospel from us but didn’t because we were stuck on one or two people who had made up their minds to reject God? ave a break and be inspired by Mr Genor’s audio testimony…

At this point you might listen to the audio testimony of

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the late Mr Genor. Just google “Amazing Testimony of Mr Genor The George street evangelist”. Mr Genor was an Australian who committed himself to giving out gospel tracts on George Street in Sydney.

He is an example of someone who gave the gospel to thousands of people. Not one of them witnessed his lifestyle, yet thousands were converted.

What are four lessons we can learn from Mr Genor’s testimony?

1. We ought to relentlessly proclaim and spread the gospel to everyone, everywhere. If the person with whom we share does not get to see anything of our life, the love, prayers and positive witness of other Christians will help “water” the seed of the gospel we have planted.

2. We ought to be a positive example of Christianity ourselves, trusting that other Christians may have shared the gospel with non-Christians in our sphere of influence. In this way our lives will help water the seed they planted.

3. By faith we believe that God will “grow” the seed of the gospel we plant.

4. If we don’t see immediate fruit for our efforts, keep going anyway knowing that the highest motive for evangelising is not to win souls but to glorify God. Just be faithful to evangelise and let God take care of “results.”

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ummary

• Don’t let feelings of inadequacy stop you evangelising.

Everyone who does evangelism has these feelings, so join in and get going.

• Saint Francis never said “Go into the world and preach the gospel and if necessary use words.’” This saying was made up. It was sown into the Church and circulated by darkness to hinder evangelism.

• We don’t need to earn the right to share the gospel with 50

•

•

• •

• •

• •

•

someone. God has given us ‘the right’ when He said “All authority under heaven and earth has been given to me.

Therefore go.” There is no higher authority.

Good works are critical in the process of drawing nonChristians to Jesus, but in and of themselves they don’t constitute evangelism.

Don’t let fear of ‘mucking it up’ put you off attempting evangelism. Everyone has this fear when they set out and God always proves greater.

It’s impossible to be a Christian and be a private one. Jesus commanded us to speak out the gospel in public.

Don’t be embarrassed about sharing your faith. The vast majority of non-Christians are actually eager to hear the gospel. Get used to seeing yourself as someone who will be truly valued and appreciated by non-Christians. The other side of death, you’ll see many of the people you shared with and they’ll thank you eternally for the care and love you showed them when you shared the gospel with them on earth.

Good tools and resources will help build your confidence.

Poor tools and resources will do the opposite.

Generally speaking (there are rare exceptions), if a voice inside your head tells you not to evangelise, ignore it. It’s not God speaking. It’s darkness.

Sharing the gospel with someone in a loving caring way is the ultimate expression of Christian love.

Don’t worry if you want to share the gospel and your life is not perfect. If we are truly honest about ourselves, there are areas in all our lives which are not up to scratch. Go and share the gospel anyway, and in so doing, God will work powerfully in you to clean up your imperfections.

If you suspect your motives are not right, you are just like the rest of us. Go and share the gospel anyway. You are not being 51

a hyprocrite. As you step out and share, God will work in you to clean up your motives.

• Don’t restrict your efforts in evangelism to one or two people.

It’s an unbiblical strategy.

• Half the battle with evangelism is in the decision to do it. If you decide to commit to learning and keep taking baby steps forwards, you’ll get your breakthough.

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

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• In the next Mini Book I am going to dismantle one of the deadliest of all devices: persuading us to believe that evangelism is a process. This is a major, and is at the root of many other devices. You don’t want to miss this one!

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Real Life Story HOW TO ENTER RETIREMENT WITH A BANG! George and Sue Jeffery are a retired couple.

They attend a Baptist Church in New Zealand and have two children and lots of grandchildren.

George and I have been Christians for 24 years, and ever since our conversion we have had an interest in sharing our faith.

We have held many different ministry responsibilities in the church, and have enjoyed each one immensely. Sadly though, and much to our disappointment, we had never personally led anyone to faith in Christ.

Well, that’s until we came across the evangelism teaching that God has given Evangelism Strategies International.

It is completely different from anything we had ever encountered before. God has used it to release us into a new passion and zeal for the lost – and yes, at last, through this teaching we have seen many come to Christ!

Even though this is a great thing, and we are grateful to God for how He is using us in evangelism, 53

the greatest blessing has come from knowing that it is not up to us to “win” people to the Lord. Up until we did the course with Julian, we felt as though we were under a heavy burden to win people, and that if we didn’t win them, no one would. Sub-consciously, we had cut God out of the picture. Now we know better.

We now know that if we plant the seed with love and grace, ensuring the person listening understands it, and then go to pray for those who have heard the gospel, God will do the rest. This thought has been absolutely liberating for us. Yes, we do invite some people to respond immediately, as we feel led by the Spirit to do so, but most often people don’t seem to be ready immediately. Not having to pressure or bully people into “a decision” has been very freeing.

We feel like we have stepped out of darkness and into the sunlight because we now know and understand clearly where our responsibility lies, and what we must trust to God through the precious Holy Spirit.

Another factor which has been part of this fresh liberty we have is a new understanding of the content of the gospel. No one had ever taught us this, or the difference between the words, works, and effects of the gospel, and so there was always an element of confusion in our minds. Since learning all this, George and I have felt like our lives have become a real adventure and the thrill and joy factor has skyrocketed.

There is nothing quite so exciting and freeing as knowing we are now actively participating in the very front line of the Great Commission.

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Furthermore, teaching others in the church about this means we are involved in the discipling aspect as well, which is another bonus for us. As well, we have a fresh love for the lost.

We have found that Julian’s saying “reaching the lost gives you a love for the lost� is so true. God has really changed our hearts for the non-Christian world and we now feel genuine compassion and love for them, like Jesus did.

Before, when we tried to reach them, we were doing it more from a point of view of obligation and duty.

The difference now is huge. Previous to actually going to nonChristians with the gospel, they had become a bit of an abstract entity, because we would sing about them, preach about them, have them in our mission statements, go to conferences about them, but we never actually went to them with the gospel.

What is the future looking like for us? Well, we have purchased a data projector and lap top, and under the leadership of our church, have been teaching these keys in evangelism to others through home groups. When we retire we plan to travel the country doing the same, and who knows, maybe even other countries. It goes beyond 55

our wildest dreams that God might use George and me as international evangelists in our retirement years!

Our great desire is to be used to liberate others out of confusion and misunderstanding about evangelism. This whole adventure has put our prayer life on a new plane as well.

We always pray fervently before we go out and reach the lost because we are so aware that the ground must be “ploughed” before it can be “sown” with seed. We pray after sharing because seed must be “watered” as well. We also pray for courage because the flesh is ever present and fear is always lurking! But when we return we are filled with thankfulness for the blessings we receive from sharing and the cycle of prayer-sharing-prayer-sharing continues. We have found Psalm 126:5-6 to be so true for us.

“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.”

I want to encourage you that if God can do all this for us, and give us a breakthrough, He can certainly do it for you! Please contact us if you would like to at gjeffery@eol.co.nz

Julian’s comments.

I want you to notice that right theology led to a zeal to reach the lost with the gospel. It was a wrong theology (e.g. evangelism equals ‘saving souls) that stopped George and Sue from evangelising in the first place.

If you want to know what is stopping the people in your church from mobilising for evangelism, here is your answer.

Getting to grips with the Biblical definitions of ‘the gospel’ and ‘evangelism’ is so crucial. If you are a church leader, just imagine if 56

everyone in your congregation had the zeal and love for the lost, for prayer, for worship, for others in the church, as George and Sue! How different literally everything would be at your church if everyone arrived on Sunday full to over flowing with “Life and Life In All Its Fullness” like George and Sue. Doing evangelism doesn’t burden people. On the contrary, it sets them free!

This will only be possible if you teach the people in your church everything you are learning in this Mini Series on evangelism.

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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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