The Work Of An Evangelist

The Work of an Evangelist

Acts 8:26-40

Sitting in his Roman cell, knowing that the time of his death was at hand, the apostle Paul wrote one last letter to his protégé, Timothy, and encouraged him to remain faithful to the very end. He told him to 2Ti 4:5 …be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Do the work of an evangelist. Now, what is the work of an evangelist? Isn’t it to preach Jesus to the lost so that they might believe and be saved? You bet it is, and that is the mission and ministry that every Christian is called to. We are called by the Lord Jesus Himself to Mat 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;

The Great Commission is our call to evangelize the world. It applies to every believer, without exception. And if you are a believer, but don’t have the desire to tell others about Jesus—if you don’t want to win souls for the Kingdom of God, then I’ll warn you right now that I’m fix’n to hurt your feelings. I’m going to offend you, because if you aren’t willing, if you don’t want to tell your neighbor about Jesus Christ, if you are not endeavoring to bring men, women, boys, and girls to Jesus, then you are not right with God.

Friends, there’s no way around this. We may be shy. We may be nervous. We might even be scared out of our minds, but if we want to be obedient to our Lord’s commands, then we must do what He tells us to do. The Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion. It’s not an “if you want to” request. It is a command. We are to make disciples. We are to do the work of an evangelist. This applies to every believer, without exception.

I want you to think of it like this: God didn’t save us to become members of Christians Anonymous. Jesus lit the lamp faith within us when He saved us, and like He said Luk 11:33 No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. We are to be out and in the open for all to see. The light that He lit within us is to be a beacon, a signal light to everyone that illuminates the way to salvation! He said Mat 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Do you remember that old VBS song This Little Light of Mine? I’m going to let it shine, right? Well, we are to shine brightly for Jesus. But do you know what happens when your light shines brightly? The darkness doesn’t like it. The evil one and those who follow evil will fight against the light because Joh 3:20 …everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Evil does its worst under the cover of darkness. Either the darkness of night or the darkness of the human soul that’s lost. It hates the light because like cockroaches that scurry into hiding when the cabinet door swings open, so does evil when its wickedness is exposed by the light coming on.

Darkness fights against the light, and in the book of Acts we see what happens in the world when the light of the gospel starts to shine brightly. After the martyrdom of Steven, severe persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem. A Pharisee name Saul, from Tarsus became one of the chief persecutors of Christians. He chased them from town to town, arresting then and taking them back to Jerusalem for imprisonment or death.

The goal of persecution was to destroy the Church, but what it did instead was to cause the Church to spread out, to expand, and to grow. As believers fled to other places to escape Act 8:4 …those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

God will take even the wickedness of men and use it for His glory. Nothing, and I mean nothing ever takes God by surprise. The One who dwells in the eternal present, knows the beginning from the end. He used the persecution of the Church as a catalyst to spread the gospel throughout the world. One of the seven deacons that was chosen to assist the apostles in the daily tasks of the Church, so they could devote their time to prayer and the ministry of the Word was named Philip. He was the first missionary of the early Church and was also the very first to be given the title of “Evangelist.” As Saul made havoc of the Church, Philip went to Samaria and held a revival!