“Going out on a limb for Jesus”

The Disciplines of Christ - Part 8

The Art of Evangelism

Intro: Mark 16:15 (NLT) –Jesus Said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

I’ve got a confession to make…I’ve preached 100’s of sermons on the Gospel, but the art of Evangelism is not one of my strongest suits. To see evangelism as just preaching from a pulpit is to miss the mark. You see, it’s easy for me to stand up in front of an audience of Christians and speak about Christ (that’s what they came to hear). However, to speak to others who possibly don’t want to hear about “your” Jesus or have any religious conversation…that’s a much different matter.

Many make the mistake as just seeing Evangelism as a Spiritual Gift, and therefore if they don’t have that gift they don’t feel the responsibility to practice Evangelism. That’s like saying I don’t have the gift of GIVING so I don’t need to give. That’s ridiculous! We all are called to give.  It’s just that some are especially gifted at it. The same goes with Evangelism; we all are called, but some of us are spiritually gifted in the art. The rest of us have to discipline ourselves in this art of evangelism. It may never be something we are particularly gifted at doing, but if we can learn something from this art, then you might just make the difference in that one person in your life that nobody else could reach for Christ.

 

The Discipline – Evangelism for the purpose of Godliness.

 The Art of the Evangelism

Now there is a slight difference between the gift of Evangelism and the art of Evangelism. So first, let’s look at the definition and the purpose of Evangelism directly for Adventure’s Spiritual Gift Class:

 

Definition of the Gift of Evangelism: The distinct ability to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others in such a way that many non-Christians believe in Christ and are converted to Christianity.

 

Purpose of this Gift: To actively initiate and develop relationships with the unsaved in order to share the salvation message and lead them to repentance from sin to eternal life in Christ.

 

The Art of Evangelism:  Here are two ways that the art of evangelism is different from the gift. First, the gift of Evangelism is often for those who are able to evangelize the masses (in such a way that many non-Christians believes). Whereas the art is the ability to share on a more one-on-one basis about your faith (about what Jesus has done in your life). Second, the art of Evangelism always includes your personal testimony of how Jesus saved you or how he has changed you.

 

The Story – Jesus and Zacchaeus        (Luke 19:1-10^NLT) -

 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. ² There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. ³ He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

⁵ When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

⁶ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. ⁷ But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

⁸ Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

⁹ Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Questions to consider: What key words in our story today give us insight into Jesus’ art of Evangelism. In other words, what did Jesus do or not do that made this meeting effective with Zach? Why is this an example of successful evangelism by Jesus? Is it because Zach gave back the money? Take note: This is an example of the Art of Evangelism by Jesus because this is a one on one encounter that Jesus has with Zach (this is what every Christian is called to do). If I wanted to give you an example of the Spiritual Gift of Evangelism then I would have used the story of Jesus preaching/teaching to the masses like in the Sermon on the Mount.

 

Helpful Commentary:  The Romans sold taxation rights to the highest bidder. Whatever a man could squeeze out of the locals beyond what he had promised to the Romans was his to keep. There are some obvious an inherit flaws to this system. Namely, it fosters greed and extortion. Whoever could master this sinister trade would rise to the top as a very wealthy man. In this town his name was Zacchaeus. He was head and shoulders above the rest – at least economically. When everyone converged on the city streets to see the Messianic hopeful, Zacchaeus’s curiosity got the best of him.  Along with his clients he had to see what all the fuss was about.

Problem:  Zaachaeus was too short to see anything. Furthermore, after bullying all his clients in the IRS office, they are not about to let him weasel his way to the front-row seats on the street. Short people have to resort to extreme measures sometimes to get what they want. He ran up the street and climbed a sycamore fig-tree. He went out on a limb to see Jesus. There he is, in a pinstripped toga, up in a tree, way beneath his dignity. He just had to see Jesus. What he didn’t count on was Jesus seeing him.

 

When Jesus stopped and called Zacchaeus, the crowd was scandalized. Of all the dirty, rotten scum bags, Jesus chose the worst.  There were hundreds of people who would have gladly hosted Jesus in their homes – good homes, with kosher food, and children on the honor roll.  Zacchaeus didn’t disserve to have Jesus come to his house. That’s precisely the point.

The story ends with Jesus purpose statement, “The son of man came to seek and save the lost.” He took a tax collector and claimed him as a child of Abraham.  It is both scandalous and wonderful. It was scandalous because Jesus graced a sinner. It was wonderful because the sinner was transformed and graced the poor of his community…this amazing grace of Jesus transforms us and enables us to extend grace to others no more deserving than ourselves. We take his legacy of love and “pay it forward.”  

                                                            ^{Mark Moore, Encounters with Christ, p. 152-153}

                                                          Further Reading: Acts 1:8; John 20:21; Colossians 4:5-6

 

  The Application Questions:  

1)    Evangelism isn’t all about speaking, so what are some non verbal ways you can evangelize to others.

 

2)    Are there any sins, bad habits in your life that are a stumbling block to your testimony that would diminish your ability to evangelize? Read Mt.5:14-16 and consider how bright your light for Christ. Does your behavior help lead people to Christ or are you more of a stumbling block for people accepting Christ? Think about your behavior, if your life doesn’t look much different than your unsaved friends, why would they ever consider accepting Christ? If Christ does seem to help you much, what do you think they are going to think of this “Jesus”?

 

3)    Now, think about our story today, is there any Zacchaeus’ in your life that you don’t think deserve to know Jesus? People you think are beneath your dignity. This is a dangerous attitude, more dangerous than the sins you are struggling with. God can forgive your bad behavior and help you work on changing it, but your arrogance in thinking you’re better than others can get you humbled by him pretty quickly.

 

4)     GROUP DISCUSSION: Since your testimony is so important to evangelizing, have a couple of people volunteer to tell their story. If you can’t tell your small group, you want be able to tell others. Remember, your testimony is not just how you were saved but how Jesus has changed your life.

 

 

 

Strengthening your discipline of Evangelism:

Let’s remember that evangelism is expected of us. You might think Jesus is asking  too much of you, but we need to understand his perspective. One, God (through the power of the Holy Spirit) will help you do this in your own unique way through the Spiritual Gifts he has given. Second, God has done his part; he has saved you. Therefore, to refuse to reach out your hand of evangelism is like refusing to reach out your hand to help someone who is drowning.  So let’s look at a few ways you can strengthen your spiritual lifesaving skills.

1)    Since God has gifted us each differently, you really need to be aware of your Spiritual Gifts that he has given you. Think about it in this way, if evangelism is a rescue mission: There is somebody who drives the emergency vehicle, there is somebody who takes the 911 call, there is someone who does the actual lifesaving procedures, and so on. Therefore, you need to know how God has gifted you. So if you haven’t taken the Spiritual Gifts Class at Adventure, you need to do that to maximize your Evangelistic capability. Even if this is something you have taken in the past it is good to take it again because God is always working on us possibly gifting us for something different at different stages of our lives

 

2)    Since your personal testimony is such an important part of your personal evangelism effort, you need to be able to tell your story succinctly and well. Try writing your story out, it will help organize your thoughts.

 

3)      Make a list of people in your circle of life that don’t know Christ. Think about how you might be able to reach out to them and share Christ with them. It starts with relationship so what steps can you take to have better relationships with them? One of the best ways of getting the ball rolling is just asking if you can pray for them, ask for specific needs in their life that you could pray for. This usually works a lot better than, “Hey, can I talk to you about Jesus.” Prayer gets the conversation rolling and lets them know that you care.

 

4)    Finally, evangelism is most effective when we are intentional. You have to make plans to do this. I don’t mean you have to plan out every conversation, but you need to be ready to give a reason for your faith when asked, when the moment arises. So go through a list of people in your life right now and think about at least one person you can begin evangelizing. It may start with a simple invitation to Church or small group.

Praying through today’s discipline:  Pray over two things here:  1) Ask God for his help in doing this. Ask him to relieve your fears because this can be pretty intimidating. 2) Think about the person you picked out to start evangelizing and begin praying for them every day.  Be patient because you’re persistence will pay off.

TAKE NOTE!!!! If you are caught up in any destructive sin right now, you are in no place to evangelize others. It’s hard to reach out to others who are drowning when you’re drowning yourself. Get with your pastor or a close Christian friend who can help you through your struggles.

 

Blessings,

Jason