The Church and Evangelism

The Power of An Endless Life

When it comes to evangelism, so often the question is "How do we begin?" The common approach by many in this day is to have a group meeting, come up with some ideas, choose the ones that seem best, organize, and begin some form of systematic proclamation of the gospel. It seems so right, and the motives are pure. How would we dare to question such an approach? In this area as in all areas, the natural mind is one of our worst enemies. It was true for Israel, it was true in the time of Jesus, and it is still true today. If there is one truth we need to be convinced of, it is this: we must not find our own way in any matter, including that of evangelism. We can find our own way, for the natural man is very capable, but if we do, we will not have God's blessing. If we want to know the grace of God and see results that last for eternity, we must take our direction from God.

If we search the scriptures with an open mind, I believe one thing will become evident. In the examples recorded for us, beginnings were often very simple and could even have passed unnoticed if those involved had not been sensitive. Consider one example from the life of Jesus. In John chapter 4, we have the account of Jesus speaking with the woman at the well. The account concludes: "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all that I ever did.' So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, 'Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world'" (John 4:39-42).

This story began when Jesus asked a woman for a drink of water. Because of the perception of Jesus and the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit, what started as a simple encounter became an open door for the gospel, resulting in many believing in Jesus. Now we may consider this to be a special event, and it is. But can we not expect the same in our lives if we are being led by the Spirit? What about this promise: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father" (John 14:12).

So often we fall back into natural thinking without even realizing it. God never expected us to do the work of evangelism apart from His grace and the miraculous power of God. Before He went away, Jesus commanded the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. Only then could they be witnesses unto Him, not in their own strength and wisdom but in the power of an endless life. Without ability from God, we will just ask a woman for a drink and go on our way, planning our next evangelistic campaign. With the ability of God, we will recognize the open door and walk through it, and "many will believe."

Consider an example from the life of Paul found in Acts 16. This account records the beginning of the church at Philippi. In the record we see divine direction, sensitivity by Paul to the leading of the Spirit, a simple sharing of the gospel to a group of women who were praying, and the Lord opening the heart of one woman to hear. We also see at work the gifts of the Spirit, persecution, the strength of God to rejoice in difficult situations, and an utter dependence on God to deliver, even in the darkness of a prison cell. Consider how quickly all this took place. Consider the reality Christ brought these believers into. It was a work of God from beginning to end. Is there any reason we should not expect the same today? Where did it all begin? Was it not as Paul looked to God to direct him and had a spiritual sensitivity to recognize when He gave the direction? Has God changed His ways today? Do we have so many more resources that we do not need this same divine direction? Or was that way only for Paul? I ask so that we may consider these things before God.

Why do we tend to think we should organize to get a crowd? Perhaps it is from the account of the day of Pentecost. But who organized the crowd on that day? Was it not God himself? The only thing men were doing was waiting on the Lord in prayer. God did the rest. When the time came for Peter to stand up, God had brought the crowd together with prepared hearts. Without that, Peter could have stood and we would never have heard about it, for nothing would have happened. This is not to say that men and women were not involved, for they were. But they were not planning and organizing to gather and keep a crowd. They were giving themselves to waiting on God under the command of Jesus. This is foolishness to man, but power to those who believe.

Consider an account from the life of Peter found in Acts 10: the salvation of the household of Cornelius. What was the evangelist doing? He was praying. What were the people doing? They were praying. God brought them together in His way, and when He did, a mighty work of the Spirit was done. We know these accounts very well, but have we considered their meaning in our lives? Are we willing to give ourselves to believing prayer? Do we serve the same miracle-working God, or does He need our help these days? God does not need our help, but He does need us to give ourselves to Him so that He can do His own work in and through us. This takes submission to Christ as Lord. It takes the discipline of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and a willingness to come to Him for His wisdom and direction, knowing that apart from Him we can do nothing. One act of God through us is worth more than a thousand acts of our own efforts trying to do something for Him. Are we available to God?

We cannot quote the entire book of Acts here, but I trust that these few examples will be enough to send us back to God on our knees for a fresh revelation of Himself and His ways. We want God. We want, and God wants, fruit that is lasting. We do not want to stand empty-handed before God on the final judgment day. For these things to be accomplished, we must go God's way, and God's way is men filled with the Holy Spirit. The command is, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit." That is where we must begin and end. Let us not look for another way. There is no other way. Jesus is the way.

Brethren, these few words of encouragement are not the final answer on the question of evangelism. No two events recorded for us in scripture are exactly the same. God is very creative, and we are not ruling out any way God leads. But we are saying that it must be God who is leading, and when He does, the work will not be tainted with the ways and efforts of man. God will not share His glory with another. He is concerned about the lost far more than we are, but only He can save them. Our place is to be available to God. He will use us as He sees fit, and our beginning and continuing place is on our knees in prayer.

May God bring us to the end of ourselves, where we are cast utterly upon Him. May we know for sure that "apart from Him we can do nothing." Let us not look for the crowds, but for Jesus. His promise is, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst." Do we need more than Jesus? I think not. If we are two who are concerned about the lost, we have the beginning. God will not fail those who believe Him, so let us begin--and never stop!