SUMMER HAS ARRIVED. TRAVEL IS increasing,
vacations have started, city celebrations and county fairs are in
progress, the parks and beaches are filling up, and people are starting
to be everywhere. What an opportunity summer is for reaching a large
number of people with the gospel. Here are seven rules for evangelism as
you share the gospel:
1. Do Something. Think of this: you may very well be the
last Christian that those around you may see before entering eternity.
Or look at this same concept in this way: You may be the last person
passing a burning house filled with people before it collapses�what
would you do? What you would not do is nothing. Since people are
actually headed for hell�do something, anything, to bring the message of
Christ, sin and salvation to them.
2. Take the Time. Nothing ever gets done unless you give
it time. Nothing gets your time unless it has your priority. Let�s look
at it in this way: If my time is so sparse that I must choose between
writing these words of encouragement and sharing the gospel, it is
better not to write these words. Everyone has something that can be laid
down for the sake of sharing the gospel�but no one should have a reason
for not doing something.
3. Be Courteous. We are not out there to force ourselves
on anyone. We are searching for those ready to give us an ear. Be gentle
and courteous as you stand firm, striving to tear down intellectual and
spiritual strongholds. The harvest is ready to be harvested: go for the
harvest, not the dung.
4. Keep the Vision Burning. If I saw that a bridge was out
and a car was headed toward it, I would do whatever I could to warn the
approaching car. Why? Because I see the danger. If the reality of
hell is before our eyes, the boldness to warn others would be as
instinctive as breathing.
5. Don't Be A Works Focused Christian. The quickest way to
experience burn-out with sharing the gospel is by focusing on the work
of evangelism. Instead, be a Christ Experiencing Christian. When
we experience the living Christ, then our evangelism is an outgrowth of
our relationship with him. When we work for Christ, without experiencing
him, then our reward and refreshment must come from the work instead of
a person (Christ) and that can be quite a burden. Experiencing Christ
makes the yoke of evangelism easy and the burden of evangelism light.
6. Be Like A Little Child. When my ten year old boy goes
with me to distribute tracts, he is out for no person to be left behind.
He is much more aggressive than I am. When we are in the parking lot,
every car must be given a tract and every person within our eyesight
must receive a tract. The lesson here is, when you're out there, settle
for nothing less than the gusto..
7. Do Not Fear. I don't know what you're finding the
temperature on the street to be, but compared to when I started
distributing tracts in the mid 70's people are vocalizing their
hostility toward Christianity more and more. Let this encourage you to
be so much the more about the work of sharing the gospel. The darkness
is increasing and you are needed. Remember the words of Jesus to: "fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
(Matthew 10:28) And Matthew 5:11, 12: "Blessed are ye, when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner
of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and
be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:
for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you."
Until next time...
Be so much the more, as ye see the day approaching
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June 2008
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"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel."
Mark 1:15
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