God at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.(Ephesians 3:20) Ask Him for opportunities to share the faith with them and trust His timing as you build relationships with them in advance of those conversations. However, that doesnt mean that demons can no longer possess people. He explained Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. Here are some fun facts to consider before I delve further into the topic, to try to give some perspective on the subject: Well, here are some of the reasons I have been able to uncover, and I hope it opens our eyes as a faith community to do better. And God has sent us to proclaim that good news to everyone who is in need of it, and has ears to hear it. In physical possession, a spirit actually inhabits a persons body and takes direct control of the persons senses and muscular system, so that the spirit is living in the persons body. Thanks again for the great questions that gave me the opportunity to express these thoughts. And the Bible, as you suggest, must appeal to that level of spiritual development just as it must appeal to the others. Often times we do not open our mouth to tell people about Jesus because we dont believe they will believe it! Like mailmen, our job in evangelism is to deliver the mail; God's job is to . Posting up outside other Churches is asking for conflict. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. We're so intent on the end result we seek -- converting the person we're talking with to Christ -- that we'll say or do a lot of things we shouldn't . Who wants to be coerced by fear into a relationship with God? The, "My church youth is going on an evangelism trip where we have to talk to random people about Christ and how he has, "I love the simple steps that were used to show how one can evangelize, and I also loved the interaction with the, "Very helpful for me as I start to go out and do some street preaching. The Lord is always reaching out to the unbelievers, but you can still get in his way if you are a hypocrite. Englishs conversion story illustrates this. Consider the story of the Jesus and the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30). It puts me in the awkward position of telling a . They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. There are currently approximately 300,000 church across the United States of all denominations. He looked around and his spirit was greatly provoked because the city was full of idols (Acts 17:16). Even non-Christians are saved by the Lord God Jesus Christ. He anchored his whole message in the truth of worship. Best blessings in the new year to you and yours! . Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. Ephesians 1:14: When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are Gods possessionto the praise of his glory. Your are guaranteed Heaven and the Holy Spirit is given to you as a deposit. However, in practice, when Jesus sent out his disciples to evangelize, he told them not to waste their time with those who did not want to hear the message: Jesus said to them, Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. There is power, joy, and peace in having a direct and personal relationship with God. They only want to get you stirred up and angry. This list is by no means all encompassing, and im sure you can probably add an addtional ten reasons to it yourself. One thing that has been particularly helpful to me is to look into peoples eyes. If they listen (even without interest), you plant seeds that God could grow in the future. "God is all-loving. Saint Peter tells us toAlways be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for your hope.(1 Peter 3:15) No one can argue with what youve experienced, so always be ready to share when someone asks! Scripture is not always easy and cohesive. To learn how to recommend a church to a person, keep reading! But what is very interesting is that, if you examine the examples in scripture where people engaged in evangelism, they didnt rely on scripture or knowledge when reaching othersthey relied on their own personal experiences. The corollary to this is that fundamentalism can serve as a gateway to further growth into the later stages of Christian life. There is often a strong element of fear of punishment if one does not obey. Thank you so much sir for the article and for the beautiful insights you shared. to let the oppressed go free, The commandment to evangelize comes straight from Jesus Christ himself. Hello! When it comes to evangelism, I have heard prayers asking for God to add increase to the church or for God to send the people in, but not for God to empower or equip us to go out and compel them to come in. How is it to be done? If they say yes, celebrate and pray with them! The history of mission has been motivated by the biblical conviction that "righteousness from God comes . And it isn't hard to see why, as people generally indulge in fiction as a means to escape reality for 30 minutes to an hour, not be reminded of it. References All of Gods power is expressed in and through Jesus Christ. Because hell is for real! 2.Do you believe that evil spirits are the same as demons or do you belive there is a difference? Consider the story of the Jesus and the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30). But at a minimum, it should be done, not with a message of condemnation and a sense of superiority, but with a message of love, truth, compassion, and reconciliation. This might mean going on a retreat or amission trip,attending a FOCUS SEEK conference, attending RCIA together and, of course, continuing to spend time together doing things you love to do. If you need a reminder of this then look in the mirror. After He gave the Great Commission to go and make disciples in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus said, Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (v. 20). And that testimony drew and attracted those who listened. If youre afraid to talk openly about your faith alone, get a group to go out together and support one another. When you see someone who is hurting, or on the wrong track, or seeking help and answers, Jesus Christ is commanding you to go and make disciples of all the nations. It doesnt matter who the person is. And certainly Paul had reason for fear. How do I get people interested in the Bible? That doesnt mean we will have all of the answersnobody has all of the answers! Jesus disciples also went out to tell people about Jesus Christ and his message. If theres One God, Why All the Different Religions? I contend that witness on the basis of fear of damnation is worthless. There are other ways of expressing it, of course. If the person you are trying to convert does not wish to discuss or listen, then talk to someone more receptive. Evangelization is a huge buzzword these days. These are all excellent questions. Why I Hate Evangelism | Church & Ministries News - The Christian Post I think it would make me lazy, thinking that Ive already arrived, so that theres no need for me to really put my back into it. Why must we evangelizeespecially when it doesn't work and is In your prayer time, take their names to God. Start from where you are. Who is God? Just that it is a mental possession rather than a physical one. (Thats what gospel means, fun fact.) Additionally, like faith, prayer followed by doubt that the prayer will be answered amounts to nothing more than spoken words, which is why most Christians are either afraid to ask for anything specific or substantive. My View of the Gospel. 1. 28. And spiritually speaking: In short, Jesus commands us to spread the good news to all who are engaged in evil and destructive lives, and to all who are hurt, confused, searching, and in need of Gods love, wisdom, and presence. Kevin is the author of When Prayer is a Struggle: A Practical Guide for Overcoming Obstacles in Prayer (P&R) and the free companion course Pray the Bible. There are so many who need help, and so few to do the work: Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. To evangelize means to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with someone else. They were sent out to call people to repentance, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick. Jesus said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Wont you pray with me to ask God to fix us and make a change? If God can speak through donkeys like He did in Numbers 22:28, human beings should be no problem for Him! Just as there are many different kinds of people in many different situations, there are many different ways to evangelize. The inner demons such as hopelessness, despair, and a sense of personal worthlessness are not just metaphorical demons, but actual demons and evil spirits that are surrounding us and doing their best to drag our heart, mind, and spirit down to destruction. and recovery of sight to the blind, If You Think You're Going to Hell, Please Read This First. Fundamentalism serves em up. Kevin loves spending time with his wife, Jazlynn, and young daughters. He gave the Church the unending task of evangelizing as a restless power, to stir and to stimulate all its actions until all nations have heard his Good News and until every person has become his disciple.15 29. We must evangelize because the Lord Jesus commanded us to do so. , you revealed some very enlightening points, but then, theres just 1 question which seems irreconcilable to the things you wrote. In his free time, you can find him reading, writing (in English and Spanish), and serving at his church. Personally, a guarantee of certain heaven isnt really a big draw for me. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); (Click the cover image or title link to review or purchase. to bring good news to the poor. It saved a murderer and a savage like Paul. Here is a Spiritual Conundrum submitted to Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life by a reader named SeunAlaba:. They may be friends. Ask them if they have any pain or sickness and. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falselyon my account. This gospel works. For those on the level of love, its all about feeling God as a loving presence, and expressing that love to others. What was your life like before you were a Christian? Its a matter of refusing to leave behind evil ways of life, and rejecting and turning their backs on those who come to help and to heal. If we are fearful, we are not made perfect in his love. People who reject these things are not merely rejecting correct beliefs as we think of them today; they are rejecting the power and goodness of God because they are engaged in selfish and materialistic lives, and are unwilling to leave those selfish and materialistici.e., evilways behind. Sin (those times when we choose not to love others as we should) creates a chasm between you and God. It then becomes a one-sided conversation with us doing all the talking and no listening. Why Do You Struggle With Evangelism? - The Gospel Coalition Pope Francis especially keeps telling us to hit the streets and encounter people, but most of us dont quite know what that means practically. I totally agree that evangelization should NOT be motivated by damnation. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. Blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile we dont tell anyone about Jesus! If you are a Christian it is not because you are smarter or more deserving then the guy on meth down the street. A common belief among many people todayincluding many Catholicsis that most, if not all, people are going to heaven. It says that God is love. ", well as what to avoid doing and saying. Do you ever feel like something is missing? There are many people who are walking on a path that leads toward personal and spiritual destruction. So as much as I agree with you that fundamentalism is annoying and off-putting, for many people it is the pathway into a Christian faith and life. And so they simply don't feel like they are capable of sharing the gospel. Instead, he not only accepted their worship, but went on to say, All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me., All power in heaven and on earth? When I am not active evangelistically I am actually saying, They do not hallow your name, but that is ok with me. Listen, evangelism is about worship before it is about getting people out of hell. Thanks for reading. I am certain of it. Don't start unnecessary arguments by evangelizing to members of other religions who are satisfied in their faith. And because we dont want to look bad in anyones eyes, we defer to not speaking out or speaking up. They have a rather simple, black-and-white view of the Bible and of Gods will, and they dont consider it their part to question what they see as the teaching of the Bible. I'm a little afraid of the responses I will get. Seven Myths About Catholic Evangelization | Catholic Answers Product Manager, Open the Bible for Leaders. So the first point is that the good news of Jesus Christ is meant for people of every nationality and race. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Further, every religion has its own unique perspective and insights to offer to its adherents and to the world. Many Christians put tremendous energy into converting non-Christians because they believe that they are doing an eternal favor to all the people they manage to save by inducing them to believe in Jesus. Jesus sent His apostles into the world by reaching out to individuals who would be able to teach others. The young man approached Jesus, interested in hearing about how to get to heaven. There is no other God, and no other power to save. Many kept right on living evil and destructive lives. Why did you seek out Christ and Christianity? the YouTube channel of Dr. Jerry Marzinsky, Facing our Demons of Darkness, Depression, and Mental Illness, "Christian Beliefs" that the Bible Doesnt Teach, Christian Beliefs that the Bible Does Teach, Heaven, Regeneration, and the Meaning of Life on Earth. If you are ready and willing to serve as Gods messenger, Jesus will suggest to your heart many more ways that you can spread the good news to your fellow human beings. ", https://focusoncampus.org/content/10-ways-to-evangelize-its-easier-than-you-think, https://www.gotquestions.org/evangelize-friends-family.html, http://www.jeffgossministries.org/howtoevangelize.asp, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-to-evangelize-professing-believers, https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/learning-evangelize.html. I truly believe that good people will go to heaven, weather they believe in Jesus or not, which is of course an outrage to fundamentalists. Last Updated: August 1, 2022 Knowledge. The Bible, Emanuel Swedenborg, and Reincarnation. I am preparing right now, but I've got this fear within me. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, Jesus Christ commanded us to evangelize because he is God, and he wants everyone to know that. I have learned quite a lot about evangelizing. When you consider the fundamental tenet of Christianity, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but instead would have everlasting life (John 3:16), you would think that Christians would be ecstatic about that prospect, and would want to share that with anybody and everybody they could. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. That is why they are so persistent. When the Bible says belief, it is not talking about a mere intellectual faith and acceptance of some teaching. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:1620). Going out on your own can be a frightening thing, but that is never the experience of the Christian. How many invitations do you have sitting in Facebook events right now? It adequately and exhaustively answered my questions,& it has been most helpful. It is the good news that the infinite, almighty God of the universe is present with us as Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the pulse behind evangelism. It doesnt matter if its a man or a woman. Having a support group will make the job a lot easier, letting tips and advice flow freely through the group. Let me just be frank: if we believed the gospel really saved people then we would tell them about it.

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