Table of Contents (Evangelism Series)
Week 1 (12/4/04): An Overview of Evangelism
1. What Do We Preach?
[We preach the complete gospel which consists of all teachings of Lord Jesus and apostolic faith; nothing more and nothing less (Rev 22:18-19; Deut 12:32; Jer 26:2) than what is written in the Bible (Mt 28:20; Gal 1:9; Eph 2:20)]
1.1 The Bible is Word of God (II Tim 3:15-17; II Pet 1:20-21; Mt 5:18; Mk 7:8-9; Lk:24:27; Jn 5:39)
1.2 God created the universe and all it contains (Gen 1:27-31, 2:21-23; Lk 3:38; Acts 17:26; Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6)
1.3 Fall of man (Gen 2:16-17, 3:1-6; Rom 5:12-19, 8:21; Eph 4:17-19)
1.4 God’s love to man (Jn 14:6, Lk 2:8-10, 9:2; Mt 20:28; I Pet 2:21-24)
· Lord Jesus will heal illness (Mt 10:7-8; Mk 5:25-34)
· God will save us from the domain of Satan (Acts 26:18; Mt 15:21-28)
· God will forgive man’s sins (Rom 3:23-25; Acts 2:37-38)
· Lord Jesus will save us and bring us back to heavenly kingdom (II Tim 4:18; Acts 7:59)
1.5 Believe in One true God (John 14:7-11; Deut 6:4; Mk 12:29, 22:43-45; I Cor 8:6; I Tim 2:5; Rom 3:30, 16:27; Jn 1:1-3, 17:3)
1.6 Understand Lord Jesus Christ and God’s salvation plan (John 14:6; Acts 2:21, 4:12; I John 2:12; Mt 20:28; Rom 8:3; I Cor 15:3; Heb 9:28)
1.7 Salvation is a grace from God to man (Eph 1:5-7, 2:7-8; Rom 9:14-18,4:6-7; 3:20-28; II Cor 9:15)
1.8 Man has to show his faith to God in order to receive salvation (Eph 2:8; Rom 1:16-17, 3:25, 10:13)
1.9 Man has to repent his sin (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 8:22, 17:30; I Cor 6:11; I Pet 3:20-21; James 5:15-16; I Jn 1:9, 5:16-17; Lk: 7:37-38, 47; Joel 2:12-13), turned to God (Isa 55:7; Lk 24:47) and accept His teachings (Rev 22:17)
· Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
· And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).
1.10 Receive the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:5; Acts 2:38; Tit 3:5; Rom 8:2, 9, 11; II Cor 1:21-22, 5:1-5; Eph 1:13-14; II Tim 2:19; I Jn 3:24)
1.11 Be part of Lord Jesus’ body in the world (the Church) (Eph 1:23, 2:17-19; 3:10, 21; 5:23; I Tim 3:15; Col 1:24; Jn 10:1-10; 15:1-6)
1.12 Live in a transformed life (James 2:20-26; II Tim 2:19; Rom 12:2; Jn 13:34; Mt 5:21-28; II Thes 1:8)
· Salvation is more then profession; more than just thinking about God. It requires actions
· Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Rev. 22:14)
· “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Mt 7:21)
· “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love (Jn 15:10).
2. Why We Evangelize?
2.1 Lord Jesus entrusted evangelism to His disciples (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15)
2.2 We owe gospel to the world (Rom 1:14-15)
2.3 Without preaching how can a person believe in Christ? (Rom 10:13-15)
2.4 We shall proclaim God’s salvation to all people and nations (Acts 1:8; Mt 28:19; I Tim 2:4; II Pet 3:9; Gal 3:27-28)
2.5 Now is the acceptable time and the day of salvation (Lk 4:10, 19: Joel 2:28-29, 32; Zech 10:1)
2.6 We must share God’s love with others (John 3:16; Mt 4:17, 43; Mk 1:14-15; Jer 20:9)
2.7 Loving others is our motive to preach the gospel (Mt 18:12-13; Lk 15:4-7)
2.8 Whoever turns a sinner from the error of this way will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20)
3. Why Evangelize Now?
3.1 Man can not believe in Lord Jesus if no one is preaching the gospel (Rom 10:13-14)
3.2 Saving soul is a constant fight, time is always of the essence (Lk 10:4; Ps 90:12; John 9:4; Eph 5:16; I Cor 7:29)
3.3 Since Adam sinned, man has been under Satan’s control and has no hope of reuniting with God (Col 1:13; Jn 8:34; I Jn 3:8, 5:19; Rom 7:15-24)
3.4 Man lives in darkness and suffers in this world (Lk 1:79; Mt 4:16; 17:14-15, 18)
3.5 Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6; Acts 4:12)
3.6 Every Christian must share the good tidings that he receives with people around him (Mt 10:8)
3.7 There is a great joy in heaven when a sinner repents (Lk 15:7)
4. What Barriers Can We Expect When We Preach The Gospel
[Evangelism is a business of saving souls, it is a spiritual war; Satan will persecute the messenger (II Tim 3:12)]
Man has to recognize:
· Inside each of us, there are constant battles between The Good and The Evil (Rom 7:15-25)
· Those live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (II Tim 3:12)
· For Christ’s sake, believers must be aware of and prepared for
o scourge and persecution from men (Matt 10:17)
o Grievous wolves will enter into the flock to mislead disciples (Acts 20:38-31)
o The devil will cast some of us into prison (Rev 2:1)
o Evangelists will suffer persecution (Phil 1:29) as the Lord and his disciples suffered (John 15:20)
o Be prepared for being ridiculed, mocked, and persecuted (John 16:1-4)
Types of barrier we will encounter when preaching the gospel:
4.1 Shame (Mk 8:38; II Tim 1:8)
4.2 Being made fun of and laughed at (Acts 2:13, 17:16-32)
4.3 Hated (Mk 24:9; I Jn 3:13)
4.4 Defamed (Acts 13:50, 14:2; Mt 10:21)
4.5 Rejected and driven out (Acts 17:5-15)
4.6 Flogged and chained (II Cor 11:23; Heb 11:36)
4.7 Betrayal (Mt 10:21; II Tim 3:12)
4.8 Imprisonment (Rev 2:10; Mt 5:25; Acts 8:3; 12:4-17)
4.9 Persecution (Act
4.10 Death (Mt 14:10; Acts 7:59; Jn 16:1-4)
4.11 How to overcome adversities
· Be prepared to suffer for the Lord (Jn 16:1-4, 15:20; I Pet 4:12)
· Using God’s Words to reprove, rebuke and exhort people (II Tim 4:2)
· Rejoice in persecution because we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings (I Peter 4:12-16)
· Be faithful unto death (I Thes 3:3; Rev 2:1)
· Knowing God uses trials and adversity to strengthen believers’ faith and to reach many for Christ (Acts 28:6-9; 18:9-10)
· Regard suffering for God is a honor (I Pet 4:12-14)
· Keep faith, rely on the Holy Spirit (Rom 1:16; Acts 13:49, 52; 14:3)
· Knowing Lord Jesus will help and not forsake us (Deut 31:6; I Pet 5:7; Acts 28:3-5, 10-12; Ps 91:4; Isa 41:10)
· Rejoice in persecution because God is with us (Phil 4:4; Rom 5:3; II Thes 1:4)
5. The Holy Spirit, Prayer and Evangelism
5.1 Lord Jesus equipped His disciples with the Holy Spirit for evangelism (Lk 9:1; Zech 4:6; Mt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 4:33)
5.2 The Holy Spirit helps us understand Lord’s teachings and the truth (Jn 14:26, 15:26-27, 16:7-8; I Jn 4:6; I Cor 2:13)
5.3 God sends His Spirit to comfort us and be with us forever (Jn 14:16; Acts 16:7, 12-13)
5.4 The Holy Spirit protects God’s Word and evangelists (Acts 19:35-41)
5.5 The Holy Spirit convicts us and helps the target to repent (Acts 16:8-11; Rom 3:23; Jn 8:24; Heb 2:2-3)
5.6 Thorough prayer, we receive power (Lk 24:49; Acts 1:8, 14)
6. Joy and Rewards of Evangelism
6.1 Lead people to salvation (Jn 4:42;
6.2 Bring joy and new life to people (Acts 2:47, 16:18, 28:7-8;
6.3 Rewards and benefits of our work are great and will follow us (Mt 19:29, 25:23; Jn 4:36-38, 39-42)
Week 2 (12/11/04): Early Church and Evangelism
Summary: The Book of Acts is the record of the first missionary action in the world. It details how the Holy Spirit empowers the disciples, leads the spread of salvation as well as how disciples toiled, suffered and rejoiced for the gospel. The Book of Acts allows the reader to understand how God spread the gospel with a partnership with men, how profound is God’s love to man, how superior and mysterious is God’s wisdom, and how powerful and miraculously the Holy Spirit led people to Him.
1. Early Church’s approach on evangelism
{The Book of Acts can be divided into 3 sections: 1) chapters 1 to 7 of Acts describe gospel preached to Jews only and the church was established in Jerusalem, 2) chapters 8-12 document the gospel reached Judea and Samaria and the growth of the church, and 3) chapters 13-28 record the gospel preached to Rome and Asia Minor [the ends of the earth at the time] and expansion of the church]. In this process, we can witness the struggles and the growth of disciples and the church in their evangelical effort and most importantly the guidance and abidance of the Holy Spirit with church members.}
1.1 Self-centered, parochial, narrow-minded and bound by its tradition (Acts 11:1-3)
· Initial ministry only limited to Jerusalem and only focused on Jews (Acts 1-7)
o Although Christ instructed them to preach the gospel to all nations (from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, Acts 1:8)
o The book of Acts indicated, in early days, apostles preached the gospel only in Jerusalem and it was strictly to Jews only (Acts 1-7)
o God allows His church in Jerusalem to be persecuted so that disciples were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1) which marks the beginning of a new era (spread of the gospel to all people and nations.)
1.2 Disciples humanly tailored God’s salvation plan into their tradition (Judaism) and their practices (circumcision) (Acts 15:1, 5)
· To correct the mistake, God allowed persecution against His church to force the disciples to spread the gospel to wherever they went and to whoever they met (Acts 8:1, 4, 26-27)
1.3 Suspicions arose among disciples when gospel preached to the Gentiles (Acts 10:45)
· When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to investigate (Acts 8:14).
· Peter was glad to find out the same Holy Spirit (like the one the Apostles received in Jerusalem) was granted to the Samaritans and other Gentiles (Acts 8:14, 10:44-48, 11:15)
· However, after the Samaria episode, Peter still hung on to his tradition and was not totally convinced the Gentiles is worthy of receiving the gospel (Acts 10:9-16)
1.4 Enormous struggles by the early church and its leaders with respect to spreading the gospel to the Gentiles
· Common prejudice against the Gentiles (Acts 11:2)
o Culture and tradition at the time led them to believe the Gentiles were outcast and unclean
· Although some church leaders had followed Jesus for years (Acts 4:13), they still did not fully understand God’s will:
o Lord Jesus died for every human being, the salvation is for all (Mt 19:20)
o God wants every man to be saved (I Tim 2:4)
o Christ instructed them to preach the gospel to all nations and ALL people (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Acts 1:8)
· They allow human desire and tradition to override God’s teachings (Acts 15:1, 5)
1.5 Thanks to the guidance of the Holy Spirit AND prayers, obedience, humbleness of disciples, mistakes cited in sections 1.1 to 1.4 above were corrected by Acts chapter 21
· They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs (Acts 21:17-21)
· Key to this transformation is disciples’ unceasing prayers and their obedience and submissiveness to the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:9-16, 10:3-5, 9:3-7; 8:26-39; 11:5-12; 13:2-4; 22:17-21; 18:1-11; 20:28)
· Holy Spirit worked closely with disciples in their day to day work that disciples even received prohibitions and punishment from the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6-10; 5:1-10)
2. Peter’s Conversion
2.1 Peter was very comfortable preaching gospel to Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 4:8) and in Samaria (Acts 8:25)
· Intellectually, Peter fully aware of the need to obey God and not man (Acts 4:19; 5:29)
2.2 However, at the beginning Peter was not ready to preach gospel to the Gentile (Acts 10:9-16)
· Despite being a man of great spiritual maturity and a respected church leader, Peter was wrong just like the rest of us.
· Peter did not think or know that his view at the time reflected his prejudice against the Gentiles (Acts 10:14)
· Instead he firmly believed he was doing the right thing, standing against the unclean, ungodly and unrighteousness (Acts 10:15-16)
2.3 It took God’s direct instructions and repeated visions (Acts 10:15, 17-21) to change Peter’s perspectives and his mind (Acts 11:4-10)
· Peter finally understood whatever God sanctifies is no longer unclean (Acts 10:28)
· Peter finally understood the gospel is for all mankind (Mt 28:19-20)
2.4 The difference is Peter was a devoted, prayerful person. The Holy Spirit moved him to understand God’s will (Acts 10:9, 11:5)
· Peter obeyed the Holy Spirit, let God’s spirit to lead and guide him in his work for the Lord (Acts 10:19-23)