We are called to proclaim the gospel to others. That calling is referred to as evangelism. This devotion looks at why it is the duty of every disciple instead of just a preacher’s job.
Nuggets
- We need to share the gospel story because there is a whole lot of people who need to hear so they can make a choice to follow God.
- God chooses us to deliver His message.
- We also have to watch over others.
- We have a testimony for God.
This year, we are looking at self-discipline. We are using Vincent’s The Lesson of Ripeness sermon to look at the need to grow in our relationship with God. We morphed learning enough to be a teacher into determining some areas we need to grow so we can be mature disciples.
Resource
We have been looking at solidifying what we believe. When we witness, we need to be prepared to explain what we believe and why we believe it. We have looked at the Scriptures, the Trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit), man, salvation, grace, the church, divine ordinances, worship, God’s kingdom, and end times. Now, we are going to look at the evangelism and missions.
One of our job duties as a disciple is to proclaim the gospel. Some may think that sounds a whole lot like preaching — and many of us do not feel qualified to do that.
I get it. I went to a family funeral and was describing my devotions to a cousin. He said, “Oh, you are a preacher.” I said, “No, I am a teacher.”
We are quick to make the distinctions, but does God? We generally think that evangelism is for the Pastor Chad types and missions are for the Tom, Sally, and Elaine types?
Are they?
Devotions in the What I Believe series
Devotions in the Evangelism and Missions category
What Is Evangelism?
What Is Missions?
What Was Jesus’ Mission?
How Is the Mission to be Inclusive?
Let's Put It into Context
According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, evangelism is “the active calling of people to respond to the message of Grace and commit oneself to God in Jesus Christ.” I really liked how Holman linked evangelism with a deep-rooted concern for people. This concept — even though evangelism isn’t mentioned anywhere is Scriptures — permeates them.
Resource
Evangelism is sharing, as led by the Holy-Spirit, the good news of God’s kingdom to ensure all sinners have heard of God’s love and mercy so that they may choose to accept Jesus as their Savior. Sinners are all people who have not made a genuine profession of faith — who have not sincerely ABCDed.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
On the other hand, missions, according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, is “a task on which God sends a person He has called, particularly a mission to introduce another group of people to salvation in Christ.” While — again — the term missions is not used in the Scriptures, evangelism is accomplished through missions.
Resource
Reason Evangelism Is Needed
“Don’t you say, 'There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest. The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor” (Jn. 4: 35-38 NIV)
We need to share the gospel story because there is a whole lot of people who need to hear so they can make a choice to follow God. Remember, anything that isn’t a conscious choice to follow God is a choice to not follow God.
Jesus showed the urgency when He compared the mission field to a field of crops. There is always a gestation period. Seeds are planted, watered, cultivated, and allowed to grow until they bloom and produce.
The same is true when a non-believer is presented the gospel. They must hear it, think it through, determine what questions they have, understand what they can, and make a conscious decision to put their faith and trust in God.
People do not hear if they are not told. They are not told if disciples do not tell them.
Luckily, we are not alone in our work. God organized us into communities. We can get help in proclaiming His Word.
But we also have to be prepared to witness one on one. We may encounter someone who needs to hear the message right then — and we may be alone with them. We’ve got to step up and do what God calls us to do.
Remember we said there was a gestation period. When we are sharing God‘s message, we have to be patient. It is our duty to share the message. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts the person. We have no clue how long that will take. We may want to see immediate results, but that will not always be the case.
But then again we may may not be the planter. We may be the harvester. That may look make it and appear that the person’s decision was instantaneous.
It Is Required
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead” (Ac. 10: 42 NIV)
Does God need us to proclaim his message? Yes and no.
No, God does not need us. He is Sovereign God. We are broken and far from perfect.
Yes, God chooses us to deliver His message. He chooses for us to tell others the impact He has made in our lives.
Thomas made a great observation. He wrote, “The feeblest honest effort to improve the world will develop encouraging symptoms to persevere.” Our beginning efforts to proclaim God’s message will be rewarded if we keep on doing what we are called to do.
We have to take the focus off of us. The message isn’t about us.
- It is about God knowing before He even created us that we would need a Savior.
- It is about Him providing that Savior.
- It is about Jesus being that Savior.
- It is about Him coming one day to judge us to determine if we have given their lives to Him.
It is important non-believers hear that “… he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead” (Ac. 10: 42 NIV). He day is fast approaching when it will be judgment day.
We Have Responsibility
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Ac. 20: 28 NIV).
There are several things for which we are instructed to watch. We have to watch out for Satan tempting us. We have to watch to make sure we are on the right sanctification road. We have to watch for Jesus’ return.
We also have to watch over others. Simpson lists the duties of a shepherd.
- Feed the flock
- Water it
- Groom and shear the sheep
- Deliver lambs
- Search for wandering sheep
- Protect the flock
We have similar duties when proclaiming God’s message to others.
It is logical that we take care of ourselves before we take care of those God has entrusted under our care. Arnot explained that when he wrote, “The more that the teacher absorbs for himself of Christ’s love, the more benefit will others obtain from him.” The more we know and understand, the more we will be able to help others know and understand.
Vaughan warned us that this verse does not make us rulers over the flock. He argued that the “… word ‘over’ should be rendered ‘in.’”
Our responsibility is to serve those to whom God has called us to share His message. We are to model how we walk in the Spirit.
Our Call to Ministry
“Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Ac. 26: 16-18 NIV).
The verses above are from when Paul was giving his testimony to King Agrippa. He was telling the king about how Jesus met him on the road and changed his career path.
Oh, no. We probably don’t have the Hollywood splash Paul had at his conversion.
We still have a testimony for God. We still can — and will — be used by God because He has a specific purpose for us.
We probably won’t have the ministry that Paul had, either. We won’t be constantly traveling to foreign lands to spread God’s Word.
But we will have our ministry — even if it is to share God’s Word with a coworker. However great or small our ministry will be should have no bearing on us completing the ministry.
Jesus will be with us as we travel the path on which He has set us. Yeah, we may have shipwrecks and beatings. We may even lose our lives.
But it is very important that we share the message to whomever God has called to be our flock. What if we are the planter — and we don’t get the seed in the ground? Maybe worse yet, what if we are the harvester — and we let the grain die on the shaft?
Making the Connections
Reed made an interesting comment. He wrote, “An ordinary call to the ministry usually involves long processes of self-examination and observation of God’s guiding providences.”
I think sometimes we think that God is going to call us to do something and throw us in the deep end before we know how to swim.
Not. Going. To. Happen.
God isn’t in the business of setting us up to fail. God is in the salvation business. He needs us to do our part so that His kingdom is expanded.
Jeary gave us a good list of the objects of ministry.
- Show God’s character
- Destroy Satan’s kingdom and establish Jesus’
- Grow disciples so that they live sanctified lives
- “Result in the brightest manifestation of the Saviour’s glory”
Too much is at stake for God to just throw us out on our own without preparing and equipping us for the jobs we are called to do.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
We’ve been looking at defending our beliefs when we are witnessing. That means we have to be secure enough to convince someone to accept our beliefs.
Our questions should still serve us to determine on what we need to focus.
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
God knows where He needs us to work. We have to put our faith and trust in Him. We need to grow closer to Him so that we can perform the tasks to which we are called. We do that by seeking Him.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Father God. We are humbled that You want to use us as ministers in Your kingdom. Show us where You want to use us. Give us a boldness to accomplish Your plan. May we always grow closer to You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: What Is Missions? – Seeking God with Elaine