Holy Spirit Guided Evangelism Part 2
THE GREAT COMMISSION
(Review Part 1)
1. Jesus’ mandate
2. What makes us hate to do it? (EVANGELISM)
A. Hard Work
B. Laity expects Pastor to do it all:
C. Some feel it requires a lot of “Arm Twisting”
Trying to evoke emotion is manipulation.
You put pressure on by taking it off. You appeal to their soul.
This is all about how you view people:
Robert Tuttle uses the word HALT - acrostic for how you treat people;
Treat them like they are:
Hurting:
Angry:
Lonely:
Tired:
D. Too programmed, or it feels unnatural.
Robert Tuttle: two secrets to doing good Evangelism. One is the Holy Spirit helps me to find interesting people. The other is to get older women to pray for you. (Nursing Homes and Evangelism events.)
Motivation for Evangelism - LOVE
John 3:16
Lead a child to Christ: over 30% chance of whole family will come to salvation.
Lead a mother/wife; over 17% chance - Lead a father/husband; 91% chance
Part 2
Barriers to Evangelism
1. Some people don’t understand what’s at stake here!
In Matthew 21 we found:
A. Religious people such as Pharisees & Chief Priests rejecting Jesus’ witness
B. Sinners such as Tax Collectors & Prostitutes accepting Jesus Witness and repenting
Spirituality isn’t grunt and groan, it’s repent and believe.
What we need to realize is, that people out there in the world need to hear the Good News of the Gospel. They need to know that the power of the Holy Spirit gives them the will power to repent and believe.
2.Jesus follows this parable with what I call “The Parable of what will happen if we don’t heed Jesus’ mandate to witness to the world”, or the parable of “The Tenants.”
Read Matthew 21:33-43
1.This parable is in 3 of the 4 gospels. It was meant to be a warning to the Pharisees and Chief Priests. However, the gospel of Luke adds that it was also addressed to the people.
What keeps us from evangelizing?
1. We fear rejection - 1 in 25 repent and believe
A. It takes 24 no’s to get a YES
But all 25 are important and we shouldn’t take it personally. Look at the rejection Jesus faced. He didn’t give up and neither should we.
2. Some of us feel inadequate to witness.
A. We need to understand we all have different ways of doing things and if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, the Spirit can and will use our weaknesses as well as our strengths.
B. People want the opportunity to start over, to have a new beginning, a fresh start.
We get up the courage by asking God to provide us with the opportunities to evangelize.
3. Some of us feel the need to be in control.
A. Hard to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
B. Can cause panic in some…anxiety in some.
We need to be willing to give control to God…”Let go and let God.”
Role of the Spirit in Evangelism
Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
1. The Holy Spirit has more invested in our ministry, family, and our lives than we do.
A.If we allow God into the center of our lives he can take otherwise worthless lives and make them count for the kingdom.
2.Let God go before us. Then, as Robert Tuttle says, “The Holy Spirit takes the initiative in the drama of rescue.”
A. Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
An angel of the Lord sent him to the Eunuch and the Spirit of the Lord took him away. Acts 8:26, and 8:39.
B. Paul’s second missionary journey.
Read Acts 16:6-10
Powerful acts by the Spirit to put Paul where he needed to be.
God uses his Spirit to woo us or court us, much in the same way we wooed and courted our spouses before marriage.
So you see, Evangelism doesn’t have to be pushy or scary. If we deal with others with the same patience and tenderness that God uses when he deals with us, we are going to lead others to a saving knowledge of God, even if it takes us talking to 25 people to lead one to Christ. We just need to be involved in our own sphere of influence.
