"My message and my preaching were not with wise
and persuasive words, but with a demonstration
of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might
not rest on men's wisdom but on God's power."
I Corinthians 2:4-5
As
many of you are preparing for overseas work, it
is essential that you become God's light right
here where you now live and work. All missionary
candidates preparing for overseas ministry should
be involved in evangelism. An individual cannot
automatically become a missionary by crossing
the ocean. Missions and a heart for the lost must
be cultivated at home first. As we are faithful
to God right now, He will empower us to be His
witnesses everywhere we go. We will then expect
to see His power manifested as we go into mission's
work. The harvest is ripe, and Jesus came to seek
and to save the lost. He promises that miracles
will accompany those who go and preach the good
news!
We
decided to make evangelism a priority in our lives.
We try to be a witness on a daily basis. Sometimes
we fail, but our hearts' desire is to be His witness
to the lost wherever we go; whether we are in
our neighborhood, in a place of business, or traveling.
The key is to have an evangelistic outlook on
life. I guarantee that this will make all the
difference in the world for you. It is just too
easy to yield to the enemy's strategy of closing
ourselves off from the world. He will tell us
we don't have time or that people will reject
us. The truth is that the world is ready to hear
the good news. God has increased the hunger in
the lost almost everywhere. And God is also doing
the miraculous. We have seen people come out of
comas and get healed in the Name of Jesus. God
wants to show the unsaved that He cares and is
the answer to their life's need.
"Do
you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'?
I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!
They are ripe for harvest." (John 4:35)
God's
Power Operating Through You
We
are messengers of God who are empowered by the
Holy Spirit with the delegated authority to proclaim
the glad tidings and good news of the Gospel,
unrestricted and with freedom, to a lost and dying
world. God has anointed, us, His people, to manifest
God's power by mighty works, deeds and miracles.
This is my description of what evangelism really
is from a combination of dictionary definitions
from Vines Expository Dictionary. What does it
mean to have God's power operating through you
in evangelism? The noun "dunamis" in the
word "power" means "ability, might,
of that which manifests God's power, of mighty
works, mighty deeds, and miracles." Everything
you do in demonstrating God's might that touches
the life of another is His power. It's His ability
reaching out to the unsaved and not your own.
It's the demonstration of His life flowing through
you in every act, the fragrance of His Presence,
when you minister to the lost.
The
noun also is "exousia" which denotes "freedom
of action, right to act, unrestricted, authority
delegated". The body of Christ has been restricted
too long. We have a right to act and share Christ
with others. People are lost, and many of them
are searching for truth. God has commissioned
us to freely speak His words of life about Jesus.
We are ambassadors of Christ, having a ministry
of reconciliation for those who have been separated
from Him.
"All
this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to himself
in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though
God were making his appeal through us. We implore
you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
(II Corinthians 5:18-20)
The
verb "exousiazo" in the word "power"
means "to exercise authority, have authority,
of the power of rulers, to be brought under the
power of a thing." We must learn to exercise
this authority. It is ours to use fully for God's
glory. It is "committed to those who on becoming
believers, were empowered by the spirit of God,
are indwelt by Him, and will exercise it hereafter
for God's glory." We are empowered by the
spirit of God for sharing the good news of Jesus
Christ. The word evangelism or evangelist is "evangelizo"
and means "a messenger of good, to proclaim
glad tidings and good news, gospel."
There
is no greater joy than sharing the gospel with
those who do not know Christ. God has given
the body of Christ authority to reach out to the
lost with a demonstration of His power and anointing.
Because you are one who is interested in world
harvest and are preparing to reach the nations,
we encourage you to get involved in some form
of evangelism and pray for those who are lost.
You are God's messenger empowered by the Holy
Spirit with authority! Listed below are some ways
to begin to pray for the lost. Prayer will be
a key to your fruitfulness because prayer and
outreach go together. This will help you grow
in your call and will prepare you for your destiny.
Don't let the enemy fool you. Reaching out to
the lost will bless you in every area of your
life. God even redeems your time, and the wonderful
joy of the Lord becomes your strength.
How
to Pray as You Reach Out to the Lost
"Oh, when will Christians learn the great
truth that what God in heaven desires to do
needs prayer on earth as its indispensable condition.
It is as we realize this that we will see that
intercession is the chief element in the conversion
of souls." Andrew Murray
-
Pray that God would minister to the physical,
emotional, mental and spiritual needs of the
lost.
Pray that He would use you to touch their real
needs by demonstrating His love and care.
"The
Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because
the Lord has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the
captives and release from darkness for the
prisoners… to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead
of mourning, and a garment of praise instead
of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61:1, 3)
-
Pray for God to open the spiritual eyes of
the Lord and set them free from spiritual captivity.
Pray that they might have ears to hear the truth
and understand it.
"And
even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled
to those who are perishing. The god of this
age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God." (II Corinthians 4:3-4)
- Pray
for opportunities to get to know the lost in
the area where you live and work. Ask God
to help you build relationships and identify
with them. Pray that you might be a fragrance
of Christ.
"To
the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I
have become all things to all men so that
by all possible means I might save some. I
do all this for the sake of the gospel, that
I may share in its blessings." (I Corinthians
9:22-23)
-
Pray for opportunities to witness and have
boldness in witnessing at the right time.
Pray that God will send others into their life
to witness as well.
"Devote
yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
And pray for us, too, that God may open a
door for our message, so that we may proclaim
the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should.
Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders;
making the most of every opportunity." (Colossians
4:2-5)
A
Prayer for the Lost
"Father, we confess that we want to see change
in our lives. Give us such a heart and passion
after you that we may begin to see your glory
flow out of us to convict and save the lost. Release
your presence through us as you did through Charles
Finney when he walked through factories and saw
workers drop to their knees under your glory and
cried out for forgiveness although not one word
had been spoken or preached. May the faintest
shadow of your presence in our lives heal the
sick and restore the lame we meet in the streets.
Let your presence so saturate us that unsaved
guests can't step into our homes or be around
us with unrepentant hearts. May your glory bring
conviction in their lives that lead to salvation,
not because of the words we say but because of
your presence and power in our hearts. May we
be filled with the glory of God where your presence
resides in every neighborhood and where every
person passing through is touched by the power
of God." Prayer by Tommy Tenney
"But
thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads
us in triumph - as trophies of Christ's victory
- and through us spreads and makes evident the
fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere."
II Corinthians 2:14
For additional training in setting nations free;
an anointing for missions, a passion that will
burn like fire and the power to set nations free,
read the book called Go Forth in Power
by Norman and Debbie Przybylski.
Training
in World Missions
To
learn more about the Elijah Company please read:
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