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- Herausgeber: Zion Christian Publishers
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018
Jesus has called all His followers to participate in two great assignments: to preach the Gospel (evangelism) and to teach the nations (discipleship and maturity). In this book, the author points out that Christians often emphasize one or the other, but Christ wants us to be about the business of both. Practical instruction is given on how to be a better witness for Jesus, and an onward vision to maturity is humbly presented. A need for evangelism and the truths of eternal judgment are presented with great balance, clarity, and empathy. “If you have a love for God and a love for people, this book will help to equip you to serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this generation. You will be challenged, strengthened, and blessed as you read it.” (Rev. John Heyer from the Foreword).
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Go and Preach
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The Journey to Zion
“Go and Preach” © 2018 Justin M. Steward
Published by:
Faithful Steward Enterprises LLC.
1897 South Creek Rd.
Derby, NY 14047
Cover Design: © 2018 Rebecca Vanderburgh
First Printing 2018
Published as an ebook in the United States of America
E-book ISBN 1-59665-711-1
For more information please visit:
https://jms22782.wordpress.com/
or email:
Faithful Steward Enterprises LLC.
1897 South Creek Rd.
Derby, NY 14047
917-983-0004
Dedication:
There have been many evangelists that have lived over the centuries and each one has their place in the annals of church history. This year has seen the passing of Billy Graham and the torch has passed to the next generation to carry on the fires of revival. He was an inspiration to me as have others like George Whitfield, John Wesley, Mark Cahill, and Ray Comfort; but the one that stands tallest in my heart will always be Reinhard Bonnke. This German Evangelist has burned brightly and powerfully preached the Gospel to millions of people in his lifetime with signs and wonders following. He has done this without scandal or reproach and has inspired thousands of other evangelists to carry the Gospel to the nations. Though I have never met this man (but still hope to someday) - the fire that is in him was imparted to me from a video in a Bible school class. This man changed my life through what Jesus put in him. Though he is coming to the end of his life and has preached his final crusade this year (2018) I know that the fire in him will live on through the many that he has impacted for the Gospel.
Mr. Bonnke, though we have never met I love you and dedicate this book to you!
Justin Steward
That All May Be Saved For The Glory of Christ!
Foreword
Jesus Christ has given His followers two Great Assignments:
1. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every person. Mark 16:15.
2. Go and teach (make disciples of) all nations. Matthew 28:19,20.
In this book Justin Steward accurately points out that at times, we as Christians tend to place more emphasis on one over the other. Some emphasize evangelism at the expense of teaching, while others emphasize teaching and neglect evangelizing. This book gives us excellent points on the need for evangelizing and concludes with the corresponding need to bring believers onward to spiritual maturity in Christ.
I have known Justin for many years, and I greatly appreciate his heart for God and for people. He is a man who is “on fire” for God. God has given him the calling and anointing of an evangelist. His heart continuously and passionately beats for people who are lost in sin and need Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
He shares with us his ongoing journey in proclaiming the Gospel to people. He openly and humorously tells of his mistakes, failures, and lessons learned “the hard way,” as well as things that work to reach people with the Gospel. He has included many practical and helpful tips as to how each of us can be more effective in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to those we live and work with. You must read the “parable” of the fisherman (Chapter 6) which poignantly describes some of us when it comes to our lack of evangelism.
In the latter part of the book, Justin points out to us from the Scriptures, that God’s goal has always been that His people should grow into maturity in Christ. In many parts of the Christian church, there is a lack of emphasis on growing up in Christ. Along with the assignment to evangelize is the equally important need to work and pray towards bringing every believer to maturity: “Till we all come... to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;” Ephesians 4:13. Jesus has given us the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher to accomplish this great purpose. We need to have the Biblical balance of evangelizing and instructing people to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18.
Justin has a burden to see people saved from their sins, and then to grow in their relationship with God. If you have a love for God and a love for people, this book will help to equip you to serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this generation.
You will be challenged, strengthened, and blessed as you read it.
Rev. John Heyer
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Acknowledgements:
I wish to thank these amazing people: Their countless hours and dedication to the project made this project come to life. You all did a great job. Thank you so much!
Cover Design: Rebecca Vanderburgh. Thank you for putting up with my pickiness. The cover turned out great.
Editorial, Proofreading, and Formatting Team: Suzanne Ying and the Zion Office staff, Sandra Steward, Lauren Ingrao, Anthony Farley. The editorial team did a tremendous job. There are parts in this book that don’t even sound like my writing because you greatly improved on my style and form. You did awesome. Thank you!
A Special Thank You to Rev. John Heyer.
You are the reason that my family came into the deeper vision of Zion and were introduced to the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the early 90’s. Your pastoral love and care showed my parents a new and better way. Then as a Bible school student - your class in my first semester lit and stoked the fires of evangelism in my heart. Your teaching was so clear and everything inside of me said “yes” and “no” at the same time. “No” because of fear, but “yes” because the call of God was being illuminated through your teaching, and the introduction to the ministry of Reinhard Bonnke. It wasn’t only the class that made a difference. You saw in me the call of an evangelist, and more than anyone else in my life you went out of your way to encourage me in that gift. You have consistently given me opportunities to come to your church and given freedom to flow as God would have. This book would not even be possible if it weren’t for your class. Thank you for allowing me to borrow from notes I took in your class to write portions of this book. For these reasons I am eternally grateful for you! God Bless You!
Introduction
Do we need another book on evangelism? There have already been so many written, yet it is my belief that this book has something to offer the Body of Christ that others do not. While there will be many things in this work that have already been said, perhaps it will be said in a different light, and I believe that there is a unique perspective that this book offers—the role of evangelism in our pursuit of the vision of Zion or in other words, God’s highest and best for our lives.
There can be a tendency, in some Christian circles, to major on certain aspects of the Christian life while neglecting other important truths. In this work, I want to focus on two often opposing sides which are both based on important aspects of the Christian life.
One side majors on the deeper life and the pursuit of holiness, but neglects evangelism. Some in this camp can even come across as being critical of those who major on evangelism and begin to view them as though they are on a lower spiritual level (Outer Court). The other side majors on evangelism while neglecting personal holiness and coming to maturity in Christ. Those in this camp focus on evangelism, while neglecting the truths of growing up to maturity in Jesus Christ. They can be very critical of those who are pursuing the deeper life, even thinking of them as extreme or legalistic. Such an approach produces many spiritual babies and very few spiritual fathers.
In our Christian life, it is very important to strike the perfect balance of two seemingly opposite poles. The Lord is a God of balance; in fact, He hates a false balance (c.f. Proverbs 11:1). When Paul wrote to Timothy about “rightly dividing the Word of Truth,” he was talking about this subject of balance (2 Tim. 2:15). He was saying that as a student of the Word of God, we need to see what all the Word of God has to say about a subject and divide it right down the middle, so that the right side is the exact same size as the left side. It is with this balance in mind that this work is being written. I want to show that God is after both things—evangelism and the deeper life of holiness (maturity in Christ). It has never been about just one or the other, but it has always been about both. Therefore, the major purpose of this book is not only to discuss evangelism, but also to show the great need for the vision of holiness and maturity (the vision of Zion). I also seek to reveal how important it is to set this deeper vision before all new believers. Finally, the last section of the book is dedicated to showing how these two important truths are married together in perfect harmony; you need both, you cannot have one without the other! The main message I seek to convey is that you cannot attain spiritual perfection, holiness, and go on to Zion if you are neglecting your own active, personal involvement in evangelism!
Part I.
Evangelism
Section A –
Introduction to Evangelism
Chapter 1
Introduction to Evangelism
Evangelism is perhaps the most important subject to be discussed on planet earth, in heaven above, and even in hell below. This subject began in heaven before the creation of the earth. God knew that mankind would sin and would need redemption. God had the plan of redemption in His heart before He even made men. What an amazing God!
Evangelism is spreading the good news that God has made a way for man to be rescued from his sins and to enjoy restored fellowship with his Creator. This way came at great cost to God the Father and Jesus Christ, the only begotten Divine Son of God (Jn. 3:16). Evangelism is about winning souls for Christ by spreading the good news. The Bible tells us that “he that wins souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30). Therefore, this subject is going to help us become wise people and to be better soul winners - Amen! Such an important subject indeed!
What is Evangelism?
Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile defined evangelism in the following way:
“According to the New Testament, evangelism is just preaching the gospel, the evangel. It is a work of communication in which Christians make themselves mouthpieces for God’s message of mercy to sinners. Anyone who faithfully delivers that message, under whatever circumstances, in a large meeting, in a small meeting, from a pulpit, or in a private conversation, is evangelizing. Since the divine message finds its climax in a plea from the Creator to a rebel world to turn and put faith in Christ, the delivering of it involves the summoning of one’s hearers to conversion.” (Anyabwile)
The word “Evangel” is a word rooted in the Greek word “euangellion” (evangel) which means “good message” or “good news.” In English we simply say the “Gospel.” “Evangelize” is the verb form and is a transliteration from the Greek of the word “euangelizo.” In the Greek New Testament, this word “euangelizo” appears about fifty-five times, and is usually translated “preach the Gospel” or “preach the Good news.” The Oxford Dictionary of Current English defines “evangelize” as: “to preach the gospel, to convert to Christianity” (298).
The word “evangelize” is not found in the New Testament of the King James English Bible, but the word "Evangelist” is (Greek - "Ευαγγελιστης”) (Acts 21:8, 2 Tim. 4:5, Eph. 4:11). An “evangelist” is a messenger of good news, a preacher of the Gospel, or a good messenger. Evangelize, therefore, means to announce good news, or bring good tidings, and the word “preach” is almost always associated with it.
The word “preach” is found in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” The word “preach” is also used by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:14-15: “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.”
A “preacher” is a herald or a public crier. If you look back to the olden days before the invention of the printing press, whenever there was some “news” to be spread, the king would send out a “preacher” or a “herald” to announce the news to the subjects in his realm. This is essentially what evangelism is, announcing the news from the King of Kings. In fact, where the word “preach” appears in the New Testament, the equivalent in Greek is the word “euangelizo” which is to announce good news (“evangelize”) especially the gospel: - declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel) (Strong’s G2097).
The Old Testament was not written in Greek, but we do find in our English Bibles the same word “preach.” Isaiah the prophet spoke these words from the mouth of the coming Messiah Himself “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek…” (Isa. 61:1a). The word for “preach” in the Old Testament may be translated “bawser” in Hebrew, which is “…full (rosy, figuratively cheerful); to announce (glad news): - messenger, preach, publish, shew forth, (bear, bring, carry, preach, good, tell good) tidings” (Strong’s H1319).
The news that the Messiah was going to bring was good news, and we also need to sound like we are announcing good news, by being refreshing and cheerful when we are speaking of the Gospel. Whatever we say in our evangelistic endeavors, we need to portray it as good news. The Old Testament also uses the word “preach” in Jonah 3:2 where the Lord told His prophet to go to Nineveh and “preach.” His preaching was not unlike a modern day evangelistic crusade. There was quite a response! The whole city turned to God. There must have been a rich anointing on him.
Evangelism is clearly associated with preaching or announcing a good message to those who will hear it. What is the good news that should be announced? That Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, has come in the flesh to die so that mankind would have a way to have their sins forgiven and a restored relationship with God. That is good news! That is the best news in the world! I don’t know about you, but when I hear some good news I want to tell someone about that good news. I heard a man of God giving a prophecy some years back and the Lord was saying, “So many people want to be apostles and prophets, and these other ministries BUT I want to hear good news in the earth and I am not hearing it.” I am praying that by reading this book, you will be stirred up to go out fulfill the desire of our Lord Jesus Christ to announce this good news to the people in your sphere of influence and beyond to the nations of the earth.
Chapter 2
Why Evangelize?
Perhaps you read the last section and asked yourself why you should evangelize. Though the question was answered in part in the previous chapter, we are going to discover that there are many good reasons why you should be involved in announcing the good news to a lost and dying world. Over the next few pages of this chapter let us uncover seven main reasons why a Christian should evangelize.
Without Jesus Christ as One’s Lord and Savior, One Is Lost for All Eternity
There are many liberal Christians who would argue against this point, but to say otherwise would be to ignore the whole canon of Scripture. The Bible is very clear on this issue, and we should also be clear on this issue – everyone, absolutely everyone, who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will be lost eternally. In John 3:17-18, the Apostle John writes, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (Jn. 3:17-18). To be lost is to be in hell and to end up eventually in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:15). It is not seeker-friendly for us to talk about hell, but the reality is that Jesus Christ taught about hell nearly twice as often as He did about heaven.
In Luke 16:19-31, the Lord gives us a vivid portrayal of hell. There is a story of a rich man, and a beggar named Lazarus. They both died; one went to Paradise, and the other went to hell. In verse 22, it is clear that even though they had died, they were very much alive in an eternal place for the rest of the story. The rich man is said to be “tormented” and in “flames.” He begged for an opportunity to go back and warn his brothers, so that they would not have to come to the same place. He would have done anything that he could to STOP people that he loved from coming to that place. I have met people who say things like “I want to go to hell; all my friends are going to be there,” or “I want to go to hell, that is where all the cool people are, and it is going to be a great party.” Well I can make a sure prediction, based on the Word of God. If your friends are there now, they would do anything they could to try to stop you from going there.
The rich man retained all of his sensory faculties in hell (Lk. 16:23). He could see with his eyes, hear with his ears, and he could feel the torment of fire all over his body. He had the sensation of thirst so much that he would have been content to have just a drop of water on his tongue (Lk.16:24). Bill Wiese also had the experience of being taken to hell, which he penned in the book entitled Twenty Three Minutes in Hell. There, he confirmed what Scripture records—one of the most prominent torments was the fact that hell was completely void of water:
“There is no water in Hell, at all, no water. There’s no humidity in the air and no water of any kind. It is so dry; you are desperate for a drop of water, just one. Just like the scripture says in Luke 16:23-24….” (Wiese).
He would have given almost anything for just one drop of water to drink. I had a small taste of what this aspect of hell would be like when I was suffering from Hepatitis A in Zambia with a high grade fever. My mouth was so dry, and I could not rehydrate because I had been vomiting. I remember my tongue feeling like a dried out piece of leather or a sock, and it was just so awful. I remember longing for a drink and told the physician who was caring for me that all I want is a drink of water. I could not imagine experiencing that suffering for an innumerable number of days with no end in sight, and this is just one of the torments experienced in hell.
In an eternal and immortal state, the soul of the damned will retain all of his senses and literally feel the flames, as if he were in his mortal body here on earth. The flames are also mentioned later in scripture: “And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:11).This is the vision we need to have; we need to be filled with the reality of what happens to the lost when they die. This can give us a healthy drive to see the lost won into the kingdom of God.
The Bible, in more than one place, talks about the “worm that dies not,” and the “fire that is not quenched” (Mk. 9:44, 46, 48; Isa. 66:24) (c.f. Isa. 14:11). I have heard testimonies of men and women who had vivid experiences in hell. Among other things, this is what one said,
“We went and stood in front of one of the flames, and it started to go down slowly. Soon I could see a person inside, When he spoke, I could tell it was a man. He was wearing a priest’s garments, which were totally filthy and shredded. Worms were slithering in and out all over his body. He looked charred and burnt by the fire. His eyes were gone and his flesh was melting and falling to the ground. But after his flesh had all fallen off, it grew back, and the whole process started again” (Revelations 3rd Testimony)
A number of years ago, there was a group of youth from Columbia who were privileged to have some extraordinary spiritual experiences. The Lord personally escorted them to heaven and also to hell. They have a documented testimony, and one thing that stood out in a particular testimony was this:
“Among those millions and millions of people, the Lord allowed us to focus on a man whose body was half-way submerged in the lake of fire. The Lord let us know and understand his thoughts. His name was Mark.
We were amazed by the things he said to himself in his thoughts. We learned an eternal lesson when we heard him think the following thoughts: "I would give anything to be in your place right now! I would give anything to go back to earth for just one minute. I wouldn't care if I were the most miserable, sickest, most hated, or the poorest man in the world; I would give anything to go back to earth for just one minute." The Lord Jesus was holding my hand. Jesus replied to Mark's thoughts saying, "Mark, why would you like to go back to earth for even just a single minute?" With a crying and tormented voice, he told Jesus, "Lord! I would give anything to go back to earth for just a single minute simply to repent and be saved."
When the Lord heard what Mark said, I saw blood come from Jesus' wounds. Tears filled His eyes as He said, "Mark, it is too late for you! Worms are set for your bed and worms will cover you." (Isaiah 14:11) When the Lord said this to him, he sank into the lake forever. Sadly, all those souls have no hope. Only we on earth have the chance to repent today and go to heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Revelations 1st Testimony)
Hell is a horrible place to be; no one needs to go there, and no one who is there now wants to be there.
One aspect that is hard for our finite minds to fathom is eternal judgment. The Apostle Paul taught us that we need to be aware of the “goodness and severity of God” (Rom. 11:22). Our God is very intense in His love, forgiveness, and blessings for those who obey Him. He is also just as intense and severe in His judgment for those who refuse salvation through His Son. God has determined that spending eternity (more than millions upon millions of years) in the flames of the Lake of Fire is the JUST and FAIR reward of those who reject the gift of grace and salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. It is an irreversible sentence! This is a very serious matter. God is not joking, nor is He being figurative in His Word when He talks about eternal damnation (Mk. 3:29).
The problem is sin. God hates sin and cannot and will not have any part in it. Real evangelism does not take place if the issue of sin is not confronted. This is the shortcoming of the “seeker- friendly” mentality. They never mention sin or hell, and, consequently, they fill their churches with people who are not saved as they have never truly been evangelized. They may accept a social Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but He is more of a lottery system to them than Someone who has forgiven them of their sins. The issue of sin is never dealt with, and therefore, they are sitting in church with a large congregation that is on its way to hell right along with them.
Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke echoes these same thoughts: “…let me make this comment about the church today. Repentance must be a powerful element in our gospel message. John the Baptist made no bones about it – the people would either repent, or there was national disaster ahead” (Bonnke Time 43). Now, I am not saying that you need to preach hell-fire and brimstone all the time, but the issue of sin needs to be confronted in order for a person to have a true “conversion” experience. Sin means to miss the mark that God has for us, and this is confirmed in the often-quoted Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The word for “sin” is translated “hamartano” in Greek, which means to miss the mark.
Sin is more than just breaking God’s law or doing bad things, though these are part of it. Anything short of us coming to God’s glory and “mark” for our life, is sin. When involved in evangelism, we must address the issue of sin; in fact, this is the very foundation. A man will not fully comprehend why he needs the “gift” of salvation and eternal life if we don’t first give him the “bad news” that his sin will take him to an eternity without Christ in hell.
Sin separates man from having a relationship with God (Isa. 59:1-2). All men are sinners (Rom. 3:23). We are sinners because we have chosen to sin, but we are also sinners because we are born with a nature of sin – it is in us, and it is all man knows to do (Ps. 51:5). “There is none righteous, no not one” (Rom. 3:10). “All we like sheep have gone astray…” (Isa. 53:6). There is not a single person who does not fit into this category of “sinner.”
The Bible tells us that the “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Mankind has “earned a wage” for his sin, and that wage is death. The death being spoken of here is not merely a physical death, though that will surely come as a direct result of the nature of sin, but it is a spiritual death. Every man is born “dead” spiritually, which is being lost in sin apart from God. If that man does not experience a “new birth” through Jesus Christ, then when he dies, he will be separated from God for all eternity in hell and the Lake of Fire. It is only through having a “born again” experience that man’s spirit is made alive unto God, and that he can experience a life-giving relationship with his Creator (Jn. 3:3, 7). Every man needs to be “born again,” and this only comes through personal repentance from sins and acceptance of Jesus Christ’s atoning work on the Cross. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This means that all other religions lead to hell, and it is only through Jesus Christ that one can be saved from hell.
We want to try to bring people face to face with the reality that one day they will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for their lives. They will be judged according to their works, and everyone who is not written in the “Book of Life” through being born again will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rom. 14:10, 2 Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:11-15). This should lead to a very holy, healthy fear of God and of not wanting to displease Him.
God does not condemn man because he is a sinner, but God condemns men because He has made a way, and most men “judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life” by rejecting God’s provision (Acts 13:46). Men go about and try to make their own way, their own provision, which simply is NOT acceptable to God (Rom. 10:3).
We cannot save everybody, but our part is to preach the Gospel, to proclaim the good news that Jesus has come and made provision for man to be saved. The Lord revealed to the prophet Ezekiel that he was a watchman on the wall. He needed to warn men and women who were on their way to hell. If he did not warn them, they would go to hell, but God would require their blood at his hands. However, if the watchmen would warn them to turn from their wickedness, and they did not listen, they would go to hell, but the watchmen would be “free from the blood” of that man (Ezek. 3:18-19; 33:1-9; c.f. Acts 20:26-27). Therefore, our responsibility as Christians is to be “watchmen”. We have got to preach the gospel and warn people of eternal judgment. Not all will respond, but we need to keep “our hands clean” from the blood of men (Ps. 24:4).
Perhaps the most important reason we evangelize is because of this grave reality—the fate of the lost is an eternity in the Lake of Fire, away from the presence of God. This should light a serious “fire” in our hearts to win souls to the Lord.
Evangelism Is the Heartbeat of God
God’s heart beats for evangelism. He loves all people and wants to see as many as is possible come to salvation. Some of the most well-known verses in the entire Bible say, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (Jn. 3:16-17).
God did not come to condemn people to hell; He has no pleasure in that. He is hoping that through our preaching of the good news, people will respond and be saved from their sins. There are many people who evangelize in a “condemning” way; it is as though they enjoy telling people that they are going to hell and enjoy pointing out all the horrible things someone is doing. I know a fine Christian man who had a knock on his door one day. He was pleasantly surprised to find a lady from another Christian denomination looking to preach to him. When he realized what she was doing, he told her that he was a born-again Christian and happy to see that she was doing what she was doing. Her response troubled him. She said quite harshly, “We’re just telling people where they are going, that’s all!” This is not God’s way. He loved, and because of that He then sent His Son to save, NOT to condemn. Sinners are already condemned to hell; it is just that they may not realize it. We will spend some time showing in a later chapter how the motivation for evangelism is love, but for now the point is that in evangelism, our intent should never be to condemn someone.
It is also evident that God is actively involved in evangelism; after all, He sent His Son. God is out there searching for man, even though man is not searching for Him. “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Cor. 5:19-29) The closer we draw near to our God the more pronounced the beat of His heart should become to us. You see, He wants to plead through us for the souls of men. He does not want anyone to go to hell! “He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). He wants us to be actively involved in winning the lost to Him; that is the heartbeat of our Father.
The problem is that Christians become spiritually lazy and sometimes we ARE WILLING that people should perish. God help us and allow us to be stirred from our selfish, apathetic slumber that we may actively seek the lost that they may be saved!
Evangelism Was and Still Is the Heartbeat of Jesus
The Son was sent to this earth for the very purpose of evangelizing the lost: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). This is what Jesus did throughout His earthly sojourn. It was His main focus. Yes, He did do other things like teach, heal, and cast out demons, but even those things were meant to contribute to, and multiply the work of evangelism. Healings and miracles would confirm the messages that He spoke and were used to draw men onto Himself. The teachings were training His disciples to continue the work of evangelism once He departed. What did Jesus come to do? He tells us with His own words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk. 4:18). Jesus came to preach the good news, and these verses confirm to us, again, the fact that the signs and wonders often accompany the evangelistic message. This was the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is also the work of the evangelist—preach the Gospel and expect signs to follow the preaching of the Word!
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Mt. 9:35-38).
The Lord Jesus was nearly “overwhelmed” with the fact that there were so many people out there who were “lost.” A sheep without a shepherd is a lost and wandering sheep. The heartbeat of Jesus was that there would be more laborers who would help to evangelize the lost sheep. This is still Jesus’ heart today. He is still seeking for the lost. He is still looking for laborers. Jesus is the same today. He still has the same heart now as He did when He was walking the earth in His mortal body (cf. Heb. 13:8). The only difference now is that He is seeking the lost through US - His “new body” (1 Cor. 12:27). We are His arms to help the needy, we are His legs to take the Gospel to the nations, and we are His voice to herald the good news to the hurting, torn world in desperate need of something other than more bad news. Do you have the same heartbeat? Are you willing to be one of those who will go and seek and evangelize the lost? Are you willing to be a laborer in the field of the world?
During Jesus’ last night on this earth, He had supper with His disciples. There is a beautiful scene when John, the beloved, leaned on the breast of our Lord. In this scene, we can only conclude that John could hear the heartbeat of his friend and Master (Jn. 13:23). In one sense, this scene should be repeated in our walk with the Lord. The closer we get to Jesus, the more we should be hearing His heartbeat for the lost.
Sometimes, with good intentions of drawing closer to the Lord, and becoming more like Him, we become more “me” focused and introspective. We can become so focused on “going on to perfection” or going “up to Zion” that we forget about ministering to the lost. Both of these issues are important, and we need to find the right balance in our lives and in our ministries.
God Has Chosen Human Beings to Evangelize Other Human Beings
It has always been a bit of a puzzle to me why the Lord would choose us to spread the Gospel. In my thinking, it would be far more effective for the Lord or the angels to do it. Could you imagine if everyone who got saved had an angel appear to them that preached the gospel? Wow! I think I would be instantly convinced! However, the Lord did not choose that way, but it is interesting to note that many of the false religions did begin that way. An angel appeared to various men and began preaching “another gospel, another Jesus,” that Paul calls “another spirit” (2 Cor. 11:4, Gal.1:6-9). No, the One True and Living God chose to use human vessels to carry the water of life to the thirsty souls of this earthly realm.
“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Cor. 5:19).
God was “IN” Christ pleading with the lost that they would be reconciled unto God. Now in the same manner, Christ is “IN” us pleading and beseeching through us (His ambassadors) for the souls of mankind. Now we are the “voice” and Body of Christ in the earth. God uses man to evangelize other men. Even when God wanted to reach the world with salvation, He chose to come in the flesh as a human being. God, Himself chose to become a human being to reach humans. Can you process that truth? “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:14). God became flesh to reach the world, and now that He has returned to heaven with an immortal body, He wants to become flesh IN US and walk the planet THROUGH us, bringing the Gospel to the places that we go together with Him.
There are two examples in Scripture that would be helpful to observe through this lens. Scripture portrays an account of a man named Cornelius in Acts 10. This man was a religious man, but he was not yet saved. He was fasting and praying seeking the Lord in the way that he knew how. Suddenly an angel appeared to him and startled him. He had his attention!
