Pray

Myths about evangelism.

In the last two weeks we have debunked two critically fatal myths that Christians hold on to when it comes to influencing others for Jesus Christ, otherwise known ase vangelizing. The first critically fatal myth is that only trained professionals, clergy, can share the good news of Jesus Christ effectively.

For decades this myth has continued to handicap the Church's evangelistic effectiveness and fervor. But as we learned, this myth is total nonsense. Ordinary Christians like you and like me can competently share the good news of Jesus Christ. You don't have to be a priest, or bishop, or elder, or deacon, or pastor to tell others why they need Jesus Christ. You just need a scrap piece of paper or a napkin, an ink pen, a verse of scripture like Romans 6:23, and some basic coaching. When it comes to evangelism you are in the driver's seat. People like myself have the joy of being your driving instructor.

As your driving instructor this is my word of evangelism to you. Turn on the ignition. Put your hands on the steering wheel. Get the car in gear. Get your foot off the brakes. Stop looking in the mirrors, worrying about how you look. Stop adjusting the comfort of your seat. And step on the gas! Get moving! You are never going to learn to drive so long as you just sit there, relying on someone else to drive and take you where you should be able to go by yourself. You can tell others the gospel news and you should.

The second critically fatal myth is that you have to be someone or something that you are not in order to share the good news of Jesus Christ effectively.

You don't have to be John the Baptist. You don't have to be the apostle Paul or Peter. You don't have to be Billy Graham. You don't have to be Jon Morrissette to make an impact. One Jon Morrissette is enough, just ask Lara. God can and will use you just the way you are. Thank you very much!

He can use your personality, your giftedness, your personal style, your strengths, and your weaknesses. He can use you just the way you are. In the Bible God used Paul's intellectual style, Peter's confrontational style, Dorcas's service style, the blind man's testimonial style, Matthew's interpersonal style, and the Samaritan woman's simple invitational approach. These people weren't trying to fit into some precut evangelistic mold. They weren't mimicking someone else's style or trying to be something they were not. They did what came naturally and that's why they were so effective.

Likewise, you will be most effective when you stop trying to be someone or something you are not and instead use a style that fits you. Influence others for Christ by who you are, not by who you want to become. Make yourself available to God for influencing others for Christ.

This morning I want to expose a third critically fatal myth concerning evangelism. This third myth is equally as destructive as the myths we've just covered. But first, a story. I have experienced a lot of failure and frustration while trying to influence others for Jesus Christ. Sometimes people respond, but many times they do not. Three or four years ago I was doing premarital counseling with a couple from Springfield. They were thoroughly unchurched. Very much caught up in sports, fit-clubs, health, and beauty. They were living together. They were unapologetically intimate with one another. Proud. Godless. Hardened.

I thought to myself, what a great opportunity. They are a captive audience. I'll share the gospel with them. I'll show them Christ's love. I'll demonstrate how Christ can enhance their relationship. I'll challenge them to think. Well I was very hopeful. We struck up a good friendship. Communication came naturally and easily. I shared the gospel with them multiple times. I got them asking questions and sharing their thoughts about God. They seemed interested. I was just sure they were going to respond. They were right there!

But they never responded. I could never get them to come to church. In fact, they never did much of anything. In just a few short years, they got a divorce. Every now and then I get updates from people who know them. It seems that they are still both far from God. It was so depressing to see them move farther from God after I'd spent so much time and energy working with them. I remember thinking that I had failed. I blew it. But was that how I should have felt?

We are not responsible for the "total" result of our efforts.

A third critically fatal myth that we hold is thinking that we are personally responsible for the whole picture or total result of our evangelistic efforts. Through the years I've had to learn that evangelism isn't the Jon Morrissette show. I, like you, am merely part of a larger process of which God is in total control. God is the overseer and chief shepherd of souls. He orchestrates the process. He positions the pieces on the chessboard. He picks the timing and calls the moves. You and I are just a part, albeit an important part, of God's overall strategy.

In contrast to my experience with the first couple, I had the opportunity about two or three years ago to share the gospel with a married couple in their home. After meeting with this couple over the course of a month, the husband gave his life to Christ. He eagerly received Christ and was baptized, but his wife refused because she didn't want to offend her extended family. This week Lara and I bumped into this same couple at Walmart. The wife enthusiastically told me that she just recently gave her life to Christ in baptism. And so God had used me during the early stages of the process, but he was in control of the overall process that eventually led to her decision for baptism.

I want you to consider and be encouraged by a metaphor that the apostle Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 (NIV) to explain the part he played in Gods conversion process. "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe— as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."
Notice several points of application in this passage.

We are God's instruments.

Notice how Paul begins. "What, after all,is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe." Notice that this cuts across the grain of how many Christians believe and act. Many Christians believe that God works independently of us in evangelism. They believe that God draws all men to himself regardless of our action or inaction, our witness, our love, our character, our obedience, or our faithfulness. When it comes to evangelism a lot of Christians have the attitude, "Let go and let God."

The truth is that God advances his kingdom through the ministry of his Holy Spirit for sure, but he also advances his kingdom through our ministry. This is why Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV). "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."

This is why in dozens upon dozens of passages we are told to confess our faith, to be prepared to give a reason for the hope we have, to the preach the word in season and out of season, and to take a stand for the truth.

The Corinthians didn't come to believe in a vacuum of human non-involvement. They came to believe through Paul, through Apollos, and through their ministry. As Christians we are very much caught up in the conversion process. We play a vital part. What we do or refuse to do really does make a difference in the eternity of people around us. In 1 Corinthians 3:9 (NIV) Paul says, "We are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." Paul is suggesting that there is a kind ofan interdependence, or partnership, between what we do in evangelism and what God does in evangelism.

This brings us to a second application found in this passage.

God causes the results.

Paul says, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

We can plant seeds. We can fertilize. We can water. We can pull weeds. We can break up the soil. We can cultivate a nutrient-rich environment, full of grace and truth and Christian love. We can shine the light of God's word. We can do a lot of things to encourage God's work in a person's life. But ultimately, God causes the miracle of spiritual growth. He is the master gardener and the master architect. He guides and oversees the process.

All of this has important implications for our evangelistic activity. We cannot successfully grow God's kingdom without God. We cannot do it alone. We cannot prayerlessly plow ahead doing our own thing while leaving God in the dust. Instead, we must pull back the reigns and understand how God is working so that we can join him as fellow workers in his field.

Recently I studied the entire New Testament trying to get a better picture of the role God plays in the conversion process. I was stunned by what I discovered.

Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV)says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." The early Christians were instructed to pray consistently, confidently, and specifically about people they wanted to influence for Jesus Christ. They were taught to pray for God to open doors of opportunity for the gospel message to spread. They were taught to pray for God to help them proclaim the message clearly. They were taught to pray for wisdom in how to act toward non-Christians.

Matthew 6:10 (NIV) says, "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." They learned to pray for God's kingdom to come and for his will to reign in people's lives.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) tells us, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.' " And Mark 16:20 (NIV) continues, "Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." These two passages tell us that the early Christians learned that Jesus would go before them and prepare the way for their message.

Luke 24:45 (NIV) says, "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." Acts16:14 (NIV) says, "One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message." In Acts 26:28-29 (NIV)this exchange occurs between Paul and Agrippa. "Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?' Paul replied, 'Short time or long— I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.' " These three passages of scripture tell us that the early Christians understood that God could open people's minds and open people's hearts."

Ephesians 3:16-21 (NIV) says, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—t hat you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." The early Christians learned to pray for people to experience God's undeniable power in their lives, for Christ to dwell in people's hearts through faith, for people to grasp the width, length, height, and depth of Jesus' love, and for God to do more than they could ask or imagine in terms of bringing others to faith.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 (NIV) says, "because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake." The early Christians learned to pray for God to empower their words as they spoke and tried to evangelize.

2 Thessalonians 3:1 (NIV) says, "Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you." The early Christians learned to pray for the message to spread rapidly and be honored by all.

1 Timothy 2:4 (NIV) says, "...who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." The early Christians learned that God's will was for every person that they mentioned to be saved. The implication being of course that if you pray for someone's salvation, you know you are always praying God's will.

Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV) says, "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 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.' " The early Christians learned to pray to the Lord of the harvest for workers.

We pray constantly for people's physical well being, but how often do we pray about a person's spiritual well being? How many times have you tried to force a door open to share the gospel? How many times have you mumbled through the gospel incoherently? How many times have you not known how to act wisely with non-Christians? How many times has someone you're trying to reach shrugged off God's will? How many times have you run into a brick wall or stepped down a dead-end street? How many times have you tried to force someone to open her heart or mind to the message that you felt God wanted her to hear?

If you go it alone without God, you will surely fail. But if you go with God as his fellow-worker, then everything I've just mentioned can be an answer to a prayer. Too often, we act without praying. Too often, we pray without acting. Neither is God's desire. His desire is that we enter into a partnership. We are his fellow-workers. We are his instruments and his tools. He causes the growth.

Let me touch on one last application out of the 1 Corinthians 3 passage.

God has assigned us each a task.

Let's get practical. Paul says, "(We are) Only servants, through whom you came to believe— as the Lord has assigned to each his task. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor."

Tell-ers.

I believe that everyone in the body of Christ can excel in one of three evangelism tasks. Some people can excel in all three tasks. Quite simply, some of us are better tell-ers than others. Some of us are more effective than others in sharing the gospel message. This doesn't mean that all of us shouldn't learn to tell the gospel. It only means that there are some who will develop a special ability or knack in this area. Telling is an evangelism task that God gives us to do. Perhaps you have the ability to share the message in a way that helps people respond and commit. If so, you should concentrate on doing what you do best. You are a teller.

Invite-ers.

Some of us are better invite-ers than others. The gospel almost always spreads along established relationships. It spreads as you invite someone you know to hear the gospel. You may invite them to join you in coming to worship, a Bible school class, an outreach event, a Bible study, a night of basketball, or something like that. But your invitation takes them a step closer than where they were. When they come, they hear a teller present the gospel.

Pray-ers.

Some of us are better pray-ers than others. Perhaps you prefer to work incognito, behind the scenes. You enjoy praying specifically for people to come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You enjoy searching the scriptures and praying God's will over people's lives.

All of us play a vital role in evangelism either as tellers, inviters, or prayers. At this time I would ask the ushers to pass out one last evangelism tool. This is a card that we will be using at Lakeside for many years to come. We will use it in our Adult Bible fellowships. We will use it in our small groups. We will use it in our worship services. We will use it in children's Bible school. This tool is a simple reminder, but it is more than that. On the back of this card are five blank lines. Use these lines to write the name of someone who doesn't know Christ. On the inside of the card is a list of the three main evangelism tasks that God gives us to do. Tell. Invite. Pray.

At this time I would like you to put a check by the evangelism task in which you believe you are the most gifted and most likely to perform. Then I would like you to turn the card over and write down the names of people in your circle of influence who you would like to lead to Christ over the next year.

Most importantly, I want you to find at least two other people to help you reach the people on your list. If you are a tell-er, find an invite-er and a pray-er. They can help you invite your friend and they can pray specifically for people on your list. If you are an invite-er, find a tell-er and a pray-er. A tell-er is someone who can share the gospel, whether it be in a worship service, class, group, or one on one.

If you are pray-er, find a tell-er and an invite-er to work with you.

And remember that you are God's instrument. He is working through you to cause new life to sprout up. Make yourself available. Join a class or group that will hold you accountable. Be a faithful laborer.