Work the Work!
Isn’t it amazing how hard we make Evangelism? I mean, really, I can talk to folks about songs, about jobs, about other people. I can sell myself, my friends, and whatever I need to in order for me to get the job done. But when it comes to talking about God, I’ve always been scared. I’m glad God has changed my mindset about this in the last few years.
Evangelism basically means spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. God has commanded all Born Again Believers to do it. While evangelizing is our Christian duty (Matt 28:19-20, Mk 16:15-20), so many of us fail to do so. There are many reasons why we don’t evangelize: fear, shyness, not being prepared, and not having the correct mindset. I’m sure many of you will agree with this list. I’ve failed to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ on many occasions because I was afraid what someone would think of me, or I was afraid of not being prepared for all the questions one might ask. Sometimes, all of those reasons were balled up into one. I began to evaluate why I was having these problems…like so many of us.
I realized that I was afraid, and shy, and etc… because of what others thought. Why? Because they may not see Christ as I do. There’s a value issue at stake here. The problem we face is that the world doesn’t think of Christ as an asset. *gasp* An even bigger problem is that some of us CHRISTIANS don’t think of Christ as an asset. *double gasp* I was talking to one of my Minister friends and he gave a wonderful example to put it all in perspective. He said,
“If I walked up to you and told you that I would give you a million dollars and all you had to do in return is be my publicist by telling people that they should come and get their million dollars from me as well, would you tell someone? Would you be afraid? Would you need preparation to tell someone how to get a million dollars from me? Will shyness hold you back from your million dollars?”
If you answered these questions like I did, then telling someone that how to receive a million dollars like I did would not be a problem at all because I would get a million dollars too!!! So if it is that easy to tell others about a man who will give you a million dollars, then why is it so hard to tell others about Jesus the Christ, who can save you from eternal damnation, who can give you Abundant life, who can pour you out a blessing that you won’t have room enough to receive and who has died on the Cross just for YOU??? ISN’T JESUS WORTH MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS???? I know He is!! We have to renew our mindset. We first have to KNOW in our hearts that what we are professing as evangelists of Jesus the Christ is true. Once we KNOW, then we have to REALIZE that we have the best gift anyone can give: Salvation through Jesus Christ. When we share that with others, we should have the mindset that He indeed is the best gift anyone can have and people are crazy not to accept Him. When witnessing to people, show them how wonderful He is. Just like a salesman with a great product, we have to show them all of the reasons they really need Him, why they should want Him, what He has to offer, what He’s done in our lives, and the benefits of receiving Him TODAY!!
When you’re excited and on fire about Jesus, knowing all that you know about Him… how could some one NOT want to know more about this Savior you call a friend? Once we develop an attitude of Expectation, Excellence, and Education about Evangelism, then we will see great results in the Salvation of lost Souls.
Once people receive Jesus, they need to understand the reasons HE came. He came one…to fulfill the prophesies in the Old Testament (Luke 24:44), two…to restore the broken/lost relationship between God and Man because of sin and serve as a mediator/intercessor on our behalf (John 14:6 & Isaiah 53:12)… three…to give us abundant life (John 10:10)….four…to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17) …and five, to establish God’s Kingdom/set up His Church…and testify to the truth (John 18: 36-37 & Matthew 16:17-20).
Now they are saved and know why Jesus came, but their focus is one-sided. So many people focus on the WHO, Jesus Christ, (which is good)…but …they forget about the WHAT/WHY. What was Jesus’s mission? What did He preach? Why was He here? When you understand and focus on those questions, then you’ll begin to realize that Evangelism is just the FIRST step. Once we tell people about Christ and they believe, then we have to get them to confess with their mouth. After they are saved…it is STILL NOT OVER. So many Christians never get past this point. So many of us go to the next one to evangelize… or if we are the ones receiving Christ for the first time, no one ever tells us that there is more to being a Christian than “believing in Christ”. After we become a believer, we grow into Evangelism…but after Evangelism, we need to work on Discipleship. This is what is lacking in the body of Christ. We bring them in the fold and say… “Okay, you’ve arrived. Enjoy”. But really, we need workers… we need laborers. Why did Jesus come? He came to establish the Kingdom of God. We have to be workers in the Kingdom. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. That was HIS message. So as believers and followers of Him…shouldn’t we be doing the same thing?
Take a believer of Christ and teach them about the Kingdom of God. Teach them how to be Fisherman of men. Teach them the principles of the Bible. Teach them that there’s more to being saved than going to church on Sundays and keeping the commandments. God wants workers. So we need to be on our job. Let’s get to work!
Luke 10:2 NIV
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."
Evangelism basically means spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. God has commanded all Born Again Believers to do it. While evangelizing is our Christian duty (Matt 28:19-20, Mk 16:15-20), so many of us fail to do so. There are many reasons why we don’t evangelize: fear, shyness, not being prepared, and not having the correct mindset. I’m sure many of you will agree with this list. I’ve failed to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ on many occasions because I was afraid what someone would think of me, or I was afraid of not being prepared for all the questions one might ask. Sometimes, all of those reasons were balled up into one. I began to evaluate why I was having these problems…like so many of us.
I realized that I was afraid, and shy, and etc… because of what others thought. Why? Because they may not see Christ as I do. There’s a value issue at stake here. The problem we face is that the world doesn’t think of Christ as an asset. *gasp* An even bigger problem is that some of us CHRISTIANS don’t think of Christ as an asset. *double gasp* I was talking to one of my Minister friends and he gave a wonderful example to put it all in perspective. He said,
“If I walked up to you and told you that I would give you a million dollars and all you had to do in return is be my publicist by telling people that they should come and get their million dollars from me as well, would you tell someone? Would you be afraid? Would you need preparation to tell someone how to get a million dollars from me? Will shyness hold you back from your million dollars?”
If you answered these questions like I did, then telling someone that how to receive a million dollars like I did would not be a problem at all because I would get a million dollars too!!! So if it is that easy to tell others about a man who will give you a million dollars, then why is it so hard to tell others about Jesus the Christ, who can save you from eternal damnation, who can give you Abundant life, who can pour you out a blessing that you won’t have room enough to receive and who has died on the Cross just for YOU??? ISN’T JESUS WORTH MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS???? I know He is!! We have to renew our mindset. We first have to KNOW in our hearts that what we are professing as evangelists of Jesus the Christ is true. Once we KNOW, then we have to REALIZE that we have the best gift anyone can give: Salvation through Jesus Christ. When we share that with others, we should have the mindset that He indeed is the best gift anyone can have and people are crazy not to accept Him. When witnessing to people, show them how wonderful He is. Just like a salesman with a great product, we have to show them all of the reasons they really need Him, why they should want Him, what He has to offer, what He’s done in our lives, and the benefits of receiving Him TODAY!!
When you’re excited and on fire about Jesus, knowing all that you know about Him… how could some one NOT want to know more about this Savior you call a friend? Once we develop an attitude of Expectation, Excellence, and Education about Evangelism, then we will see great results in the Salvation of lost Souls.
Once people receive Jesus, they need to understand the reasons HE came. He came one…to fulfill the prophesies in the Old Testament (Luke 24:44), two…to restore the broken/lost relationship between God and Man because of sin and serve as a mediator/intercessor on our behalf (John 14:6 & Isaiah 53:12)… three…to give us abundant life (John 10:10)….four…to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17) …and five, to establish God’s Kingdom/set up His Church…and testify to the truth (John 18: 36-37 & Matthew 16:17-20).
Now they are saved and know why Jesus came, but their focus is one-sided. So many people focus on the WHO, Jesus Christ, (which is good)…but …they forget about the WHAT/WHY. What was Jesus’s mission? What did He preach? Why was He here? When you understand and focus on those questions, then you’ll begin to realize that Evangelism is just the FIRST step. Once we tell people about Christ and they believe, then we have to get them to confess with their mouth. After they are saved…it is STILL NOT OVER. So many Christians never get past this point. So many of us go to the next one to evangelize… or if we are the ones receiving Christ for the first time, no one ever tells us that there is more to being a Christian than “believing in Christ”. After we become a believer, we grow into Evangelism…but after Evangelism, we need to work on Discipleship. This is what is lacking in the body of Christ. We bring them in the fold and say… “Okay, you’ve arrived. Enjoy”. But really, we need workers… we need laborers. Why did Jesus come? He came to establish the Kingdom of God. We have to be workers in the Kingdom. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. That was HIS message. So as believers and followers of Him…shouldn’t we be doing the same thing?
Take a believer of Christ and teach them about the Kingdom of God. Teach them how to be Fisherman of men. Teach them the principles of the Bible. Teach them that there’s more to being saved than going to church on Sundays and keeping the commandments. God wants workers. So we need to be on our job. Let’s get to work!
Luke 10:2 NIV
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."
God spoke to Sway at 1:31 PM
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