Do the work of an Evangelist.
2 Timothy 4:1-5.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction.
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Do the work of an Evangelist.
There is a tendency to put the gift ministries that are mentioned in Ephesians 4 into pigeonholes. The two gift ministries that are often linked are Pastor teacher, but we clearly see from this passage of Scripture and others that Timothy was more than just an “Evangelist”.
2 Timothy 2:2.
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
Evangelism.
In Christianity, Evangelism is the commitment to or act of publicly preaching of the Gospel with the intention of spreading the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Wikipedia
Paul had a special relationship with Timothy and in 2 Timothy 4 he charges Timothy to do the work of an evangelist.
In addition to all his duties in the local church, he was not to forget the unconverted.
The “Great Commission” involved more than just making converts.
Matthew 28:19-20.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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 the age.
The Plan of Evangelism.
The Plan of Evangelism.
The Purpose of Evangelism.
The Promise of Evangelism.
The Plan of Evangelism.
Acts 1:8b NASB
And you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Jerusalem = family, friends, neighborhood
Judea and Samaria = city, regional area, and nation
Remotest part of the earth = the rest of the world
We are to begin by telling our friends and family about Christ.
We must then spread outward with the message of God’s love.
The Purpose of Evangelism.
Matthew 28:19-20a. NASB
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.
God’s purpose is to make disciples and not just converts.
The Purpose of Evangelism.
Making disciples is a two-step process:
Saving the lost
Teaching the saved
Saving the lost means telling those who do not know Christ about Him.
Teaching the lost, often called “discipleship,” means teaching those who are saved how to live as a Christian. Both steps are part of a full evangelistic process.
Evangelism is about reconciliation and relationships. It begins with forgiveness and salvation, then continues with discipleship.
The Promise of Evangelism.
Matthew 28:20b NASB
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Jesus promised he would be with you when you evangelize. Whenever you tell someone about Christ, Jesus is with you. The Holy Spirit is right there at work strengthening you and calling the other person to Him.
Jesus did not say, “Good luck to you as you witness to others, I’m out of here!”
He said, “I am with you.” What a wonderful promise!
Seven essentials for effective evangelism.
Passion.
Prayer.
Power.
Preparation.
Proximity.
Proclamation.
Persuasion.
1. Passion.
Romans 10:1.
My heart’s desire.. For Israel to be saved.
1 Corinthians 9:22.
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem; do we weep over our town?
Do we weep over our unsaved family and colleagues?
1. Passion.
Luke 19:41-44.
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.
The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.
They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.
1. Passion.
1 Corinthians 9:16 CSB
For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach, and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
A passion for winning souls?
Eloquent Bishop Joseph Berry, in describing our Lord’s parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:16-24), applying it to our gospel feast today at Jesus table, pleaded, "Have you no concern, O happy guests, for the starving ones in the streets?
Out, out of the light and warmth! Out into the chilling storm! Out into the dismal streets! Invite them to come. That is not enough. Persuade them to come. That is not enough. Compel them to come!"
A passion for winning souls?
The good bishop added, "The man who sits down to the banquet and selfishly enjoys its light and warmth, with never a thought of the hungry multitude outside, is a caricature of a Christian.
He has caught no true vision of his Lord; nor have the fires of Christian evangelism been kindled in his heart. He may be a church member, but he is not a Christian is anyone a real disciple of Christ who is not swayed by this consuming passion?"
When William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was asked by the king of England what the ruling force of his life was, he replied, "Sir, some men's passion is for gold, other men’s passion is for fame, but my passion is for souls."
When William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was asked by the king of England what the ruling force of his life was, he replied, "Sir, some men's passion is for gold, other men’s passion is for fame, but my passion is for souls."
Is Paul’s compassion is foreign to us?
Romans 9:3
I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.
Some of us just don’t care that much about the unsaved. We wouldn’t ever say it, but our priorities and lives reveal it. We make no time in our busy schedules to interact and engage with those who don’t know Christ. We have no non-Christian friends. We lack compassion, we might say we care, but we rarely cry out to God for the salvation of our lost neighbours, co-workers, and classmates.
2. Prayer.
Luke 10:1-3.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
He told them, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
2. Prayer.
Matthew 9:35-38.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Praying for souls.
Many of the greatly used people of God, giant leaders of God’s people who moved the church and their world for Christ, were marked by this passion for souls.
Read the following words not with a spiritual nonchalance nor a hurried casualness.
These words poured forth from hearts of Christlike yearning, from their own Gethsemane of longing.
They are the essence of their whole being. Costing them all in a Calvary commitment regardless of the price.
Praying for souls.
John Knox constantly carried the burden for his land. Night after night he prayed on the wooden floor of his hideout refuge from Queen Mary.
When his wife pleaded with him to get some sleep, he answered, "How can I sleep when my land is not saved?"
Payne reports that often Knox would pray all night in agonizing tones, "Lord, give me Scotland or I die!"
God shook Scotland; God gave him Scotland. God respects such a passion for souls.
Praying for souls.
John Wesley, as he exhorted his pastors upon whom the future of their revival movement depended, urged, "Let us all be of one business. We live only for this, to save our own souls, and the souls of those who hear us."
Again, Wesley cried, "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth."
Praying for souls.
David Brainerd, missionary to American Indians, shared his heart cry in his diary: "I set apart this day for fasting and prayer to prepare me for the ministry in the forenoon, I felt a power of intercession for immortal souls.
In the afternoon
God enabled me so to agonize in prayer that I was quite wet with sweat, though in the shade and the cool wind. My soul was drawn out very much for the world: I gasped for multitudes of souls. I think I had more enlargement for sinners than for the children of God, though I felt as if I could spend my life in cries for both (9 April 1742)."
Praying for souls.
Again, "I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through so that I could but gain souls to Christ. I continued in this frame all evening and night.
While I was asleep, I dreamed of these things, and when I waked, the first thing I thought of was this great work of pleading for God against Satan"
(July 21, 1744).
Praying for souls.
Philip Doddridge wrote, "I long for the conversion of souls more sensibly than for anything else. Methinks I could not only labour but die for it.“
James McCaughey said it similarly: "Oh, to burn out for God! All, all for Him! Jesus only! Souls! Souls! Souls! I am determined to be a winner of souls. God help me.“
John Smith (English soul-winner) said, "I am a broken-hearted man; not for myself but on account of others. God has given me such a sight of the value of precious souls that I cannot live if souls are not saved. Give me souls or else I die."
Praying for souls.
Of George Whitefield, great evangelist and friend of Wesley, William Cowper wrote:
“He followed Paul, his zeal a kindred flame, his apostolic charity the same.
Prayed Whitefield, "O Lord, give me souls or take my soul."
It is said his face shone like the face of Moses when He sobbed that prayer.
Pray for the unbelievers in your close circle.
God gave the apostle Paul and his prayer life as an example for Christians of all time. In a similar way, He has given modern day Christians the example of George Mueller as proof to His church that He still always hears prayer.
Mr. Mueller started 117 schools, educated 120,000 children and raised, in today’s terms, the equivalent of a billion pounds without ever expressing a need to a human being or ever being in debt. It was all accomplished through prayer.
Mr. Mueller also believed that more than thirty thousand souls came to know Christ in answer to prayer. These didn’t include only orphans but also many others for whom he prayed faithfully every day, in some cases for more than 50 years.
Pray for the unbelievers in your close circle.
“In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals,” Mr. Mueller said. “I prayed every day without a single intermission….”
Eighteen months passed before the first was saved. Five years lapsed, then the second was converted. Six years passed before the third was converted. The last two remained unconverted.
Pastor Charles R. Parsons, in an hour interview with George Mueller towards the close of his life, asked him if he spent much time on his knees. Mueller replied, “I have been praying every day for fifty-two years for two men, sons of a friend of my youth. They are not converted yet, but they will be! How can it be otherwise?”
Pray for the unbelievers in your close circle.
Mr. Mueller not only prayed for the conversion of lost souls, he prayed in firm faith, confident they would be saved. When he was asked on what ground he so firmly believed this, his answer was,
There are five conditions which I always endeavor to fulfill; in observing which I have the assurance of answer to my prayer:
I have not the least doubt because I am assured that it is the Lord’s will to save them, for he willeth that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (see 1 Tim. 2.4); and we have the assurance ‘that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us’ (1 John 5.14).
Pray for the unbelievers in your close circle.
I have never pleaded for their salvation in my own name, but in the blessed name of my precious Lord Jesus, and on his merits alone (see John 14.14).
I always firmly believed in the willingness of God to hear my prayers (Mark 11:24).
I am not conscious of having yielded to any sin, for ‘if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me’ when I call (Ps. 66:18).
I have persevered in believing prayer for more than fifty-two years for some, and shall continue till the answer comes: ‘Shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him?’ (Luke 18.7).
Pray for the unbelievers in your close circle.
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted.
He wrote, But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.
In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted, but after he died!
Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable of Jesus about prayer, saying:
Luke 18:1.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
2. Prayer for labourers.
David Wilkerson
In the 1980’s, when our ministry was headquartered in Texas, I spent a year praying that God would send someone to New York City to raise up a church in Times Square. I pledged to help whomever God chose: to raise money, to hold meetings, to build up support.
Yet, while I was praying for God to send a labourer into this specific harvest, the Lord put the burden on me. The apostle Paul was sent forth as a missionary through the power of prayer.
It happened in Antioch, where leaders of the church were praying over the harvest (see Acts 13:2-6). Paul’s first missionary journey came out of a prayer meeting. It was the direct result of godly men obeying Jesus’ words, to pray for God to send labourers into the harvest.
2. Pray for all men.
2 Timothy 2:1-4.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
3. Power.
Acts 1:4-8.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8.
Power with purpose, not for the sake of spectacle, but to validate the message.
3. Power.
Mark 16:15.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe;
In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.
4. Preparation.
Ephesians 4:11-13.
So, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
4. Preparation.
1 Peter 3:15.
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.
One of the purposes of “The Church”, through The Gift Ministries that Jesus Christ has placed in the Church, is to prepare God’s people for works of service.
Preparation.
Hosea 4:6.
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
Isaiah 5:13 KJV
Therefore, my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
This can be applied to Evangelism.
People are dying because Christians lack the knowledge needed to share the Gospel.
Preparation.
A major obstacle to Evangelism is a Lack of Gospel Knowledge.
How many times have you heard the gospel in a sermon, book, or conversation? If you’ve been a Christian, even for a short time, you have likely heard the gospel hundreds of times.
Yet, many still struggle to articulate the truths of the gospel in a simple, coherent, and intelligible way.
Could you share the essential message of the gospel right now?
4. Preparation.
There is a progression when a sinner is saved, that doesn’t fit in with the mind set of those who respond to the Gospel of “Self Esteem”.
Sinner
Saint
Student
Servant
4. Preparation.
Your goal as a True Christian is to become like Christ, “A Servant”
John 13:12-14. You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
4. Preparation.
Many missionaries have spent much time preparing to be servants of the Gospel to the unreached.
Often a new language has had to be learned and some times even more than one language.
Adoniram Judson was able to translate the Bible into the Burmese language because he knew Latin and Hebrew and Greek.
Cultures and customs have had to be studied.
5. Proximity
Acts 1:8b
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Jerusalem: Your city, family, friends, neighborhood.
Judea: The Regional area.
Samaria: The Nation.
Ends of the earth: The rest of the world.
5. Proximity.
As you consider those with whom you can share your faith, consider those in closest proximity to you.
Think of your spheres of influence, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, those in your social circles, family, etc.
These are the people God has placed in your life, so, consider making some of these the subject of your prayers.
Your purpose is not to judge them or argue. The best strategy, as we have seen with George Mueller, is first to sincerely pray for them.
Those with whom you already have a relationship with are those most likely to respond as there is some level of trust upon which you can build. Don’t isolate yourself from the unsaved.
5. Proximity.
We get comfortable in the “Church culture” and the longer we are saved, the less contact we have with unbelievers.
The most common reason any Christian has found Christ is a friend or family member who did life with them, then shared the gospel with them, and was around to help encourage them in their new walk of faith.
We must void hit-and-run evangelism and start investing in people without an agenda, allowing them to see the difference Christ makes in our hearts, showing them, we are all imperfect and in need of grace, and being led by the Holy Spirit as to when to share the gospel.
6. Proclamation.
Romans 10:14-17.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Faith comes by hearing and not by observation.
We must walk the walk, but we must also talk the talk.
6. Proclamation.
2 Timothy 4:1-5. (Paul’s charge to Timothy)
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6. Proclamation.
Francis of Assisi said:
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and sometimes use words”.
Although this has an element of truth, the Gospel must still be proclaimed. So don’t use your poor example and flawed character as an excuse, rather surrender to the sanctifying work of The Holy Spirit and allow The Lord to transform you.
Mark 16:20.
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Proclamation sets the stage for the demonstration of God’s power.
7. Persuasion.
2 Corinthians 5:11a. ESV
Since then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.
Acts 18:4. ESV
Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
Persuasion is not about arm twisting or being pushy. Pushiness is usually counterproductive.
The Holy Spirit is the ultimate persuader.
7. Persuasion.
Acts 28:23-24.
They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying.
He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus.
Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.
7. Persuasion.
Some people are going to need to be persuaded, they are going to need more than proclamation, because they are honestly grappling with questions that need to be dealt with.
Those questions are like roadblocks in front of them that will need to be removed so they can advance and embrace the gospel. They may have questions like,
Well, why can’t other religions save?
Why does Jesus have to be the only way?
What about people who don’t hear? How could it be fair that they would perish?
7. Persuasion.
Perhaps one of the reasons that so many Christians don’t study the Bible is that they think that they know enough to guarantee their own Salvation and they don’t need to know enough to persuade intellectual objectors to the Gospel that they may be wrong and on their way to a lost eternity.
Luke 14:23. The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Sir, the servant said, what you ordered has been done, but there is still room. Then the master told his servant, Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.