Ephesians 4:11 - 13: "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
Christ didn't stop at "good enough", instead he's given us access to the fullness of him.
Billy Graham, Christine Caine, Kirk Cameron, are some evangelists that you may have heard of.
Key Elements or Characteristics of the Evangelist Gift
1. An evangelist makes the stories of Jesus' remarkable love and goodness famous.
2. An evangelist is a carrier of Good News in partner with Jesus and celebrating peoples' transformation.
3. An evangelist stirs curiosity and desire to know Jesus.
4. An evangelist's life is a living invitation to all to join the family of God.
5. An evangelist has a heart for others to know and love God.
6. An evangelist is convinced that God the Father is so good.
7. An evangelist believes that their life should speak louder than words.
8. An evangelist has an appreciation and an urgency for the messaged of Jesus' love.
1 Peter 3:15: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
Mark then shared a testimony about leading a man to Christ on a youth trip years ago.
Sometimes an evangelist may let the urgency take over rather than remembering the command to use gentleness and respect.
Colossians 4:6 - "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone"
Scripture that is helpful for leading someone to the Lord:
- Romans 3:10 - "As it is written“There is no one righteous, not even one;"
- Romans 3:23 - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, "
- Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Romans 5:6-8 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 - "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve."
Romans 10:9-10 - "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.- Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
When is the appropriate time to tell of the goodness of God?
Ephesians 5:15-16 - "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."
The average lifespan of a man in the U.S. is 76 years and the average lifespan of a woman in the U.S. is 81 years. Mark led the group through a convicting illustration: take the lifespan of your gender, subtract your age from the lifespan. Then take that number and multiply it by 365. If you would live to the average lifespan, that is how many days you have left.
What are some of the misconceptions of an evangelist?
- "It's my duty to share the Good News as an evangelist." It's not a duty, it's a privilege.
- Ephesians 3:16-19 - "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 Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God"
Tips on Leading Someone to Christ:
- Let the person admit that they are a sinner.
- Let the person turn from their sin. They need to turn, repent of their sin.
- They need to believe that Christ died for them on the cross.
- Ask Christ to come into their heart and live inside them.
- Do it publicly. It is important for the person to share.
- Do it now! Don't wait.
How long does it take to become a Christian?
It can happen in an instant. There's not hidden agenda - it's so simple. God's love is so abundant and he's so willing to give it to us.
Why evangelize? The Kingdom of Heaven is not full.
Matthew 9:37-38 - "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."
Revelation 12:11 - "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."
To watch the full service, click here.
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