{"id":1990,"date":"2018-09-20T09:30:38","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T13:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2018-09-20T09:31:07","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T13:31:07","slug":"1990","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/?p=1990","title":{"rendered":"Personal Evangelism, September, 9th, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SBCV-Evangelism-Home-170314\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Central Thought: It is the responsibility of every believer to reach out to the lost.<\/h3>\n

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Hymn: \u201cMust I Go and Empty Handed\u201d<\/p>\n

Text: Acts 8:30-39; John 1:40-45; Matthew 10:1-8<\/p>\n

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The Lord Jesus left an instruction, an assignment, for His early disciples and for His followers who would believe in Him through them. It is the job of winning back the lost souls to God, the ministry of reconciliation. All who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ have this ministry of reaching out to those who have not believed.<\/p>\n

It is more common in the church to organize programs like crusades, drama night, praise night, etc. with the mind that some of the people invited to such programs would give their lives to the lord, which actually happens quite often. The Lord\u2019s mind however is that every believer should be completely involved in this ministry of reconciliation.\u00a0 We must tell somebody, one on one, about Christ at our work place, at school, on the streets and everywhere we find ourselves.\u00a0 It is our duty both collectively and individually.\u00a0 It does not end at the congregational meetings.\u00a0 What about the neighbors at home?\u00a0 What about passengers in your vehicles, the students in your class, your colleagues at work?\u00a0 Who is going to tell the politicians about Christ and the professors that Jesus Christ is Lord and King?\u00a0 We must tell somebody, who would in turn, tells somebody\u2026 and the news of our Lord\u2019s finished work at Calvary would spread throughout the earth.\u00a0 Every believer should see this as a call to duty, which must be obeyed.\/\u00a0 let the engineers reach out to the engineers and the doctors to the doctors; let the lawyers tell their colleagues and the teachers their students that Jesus Christ is coming again and very soon.\u00a0 Let everyone help reach the people in his profession and not limit himself to this!\u00a0 This was the effective way that the Lord did it in those days.<\/p>\n

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Lesson Objectives:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. To understand what personal evangelism is.<\/li>\n
  2. To know whose duty it is to evangelize.<\/li>\n
  3. To highlight how personal evangelism can be effective.<\/li>\n
  4. To discover some hindrances to personal evangelism.<\/li>\n
  5. To appreciate some benefits of personal evangelism.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n
      What is personal evangelism? Mark 16:15<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Evangelism is considered in this study to mean preaching the good news to the people that have not heard, with the mind of winning them over to the Lord. It goes beyond switching religions.<\/p>\n

      It is the whole process of reaching out to the lost souls and bringing them back to the Lord, their Creator, so that they can regain fellowship with Him. By this, the sinner becomes aware of his sinful stat and of the Lord\u2019s saving grace and yields totally to Him. Personal evangelism then is the person-to-person act of reconciling sinners to God.\u00a0 It is person-to-person in the sense that it involves the believer and the sinner and not the larger gathering or congregation.\u00a0 It is a detailed process of reaching out to the unbeliever in particular.\u00a0 The end result is conversion of the unbeliever to the faith.\u00a0 This is different from group evangelism, which might involve reaching out to many people at the same time through some form of program or the other.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n
        Whose duty is it to evangelize? Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19-20<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        In Mark 16:15 NKJV, the Lord said, \u201cGo into all the world and preach the gospel to every culture\u201d, and in Matthew 28:19, He said, \u201cGo, therefore, and make disciples of all nations\u2026\u201d This command is for as many as have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.\u00a0 It is the duty of every believer to reach out to the lost.<\/p>\n

        Just as Andrew in John 1:40-45, found his brother, Peter, and Philip found his friend Nathaniel, every believer must take up this responsibility to find the people that have not known the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherever we are, whether at home, at work, in the market, in the bus, at school, etc., we should remember that it is our duty to make the Messiah known to the world around us, the people we come in contact with.\u00a0 The world needs to know thee God that gives light and life in abundance, and that sets a man free from the bondage of the devil.\u00a0 And it is a great privilege as believers to show forth this light.<\/p>\n

        When a person buys a new cloth, he is eager to go out in it so that the cloth can be seen. How much richer, more beautiful is the cloth of righteousness which the Lord clothes us with when we believe!\u00a0 When we receive the Lord into our hearts, he cannot be hid and we shouldn\u2019t make effort to hide Him.\u00a0 We have this franchise to share the newness of life we are enjoying with someone who doesn\u2019t know about it or believe in it.\u00a0 The city on a hill cannot be hid, Matthew 5:14<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. \n
          How can personal evangelism be effective?<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          For personal evangelism to be effective, the individual involved must have found the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as discussed earlier. It will be of no value if the individual is unsure of what he has believed.\u00a0 So, the starting point for personal evangelism is for the individual to be careful to make his calling and election sure \u2013 are you born again?<\/p>\n

          The evangelist has to receive from God to be able to evangelize the unsaved; in other words he must have a message. A personal knowledge of the Lord and His word is needed since he is to be a guide to the unbeliever who is spiritually blind.<\/p>\n

          The believer must love the lost to the point of giving his life for them. The believer that is involved in personal evangelism must not only love the unbeliever, but also have compassion for them, hating their garments of sin.\u00a0 The sinner does not know how to come out of his sins even when he acknowledges that he is one, it is the duty of the believer to be compassionate enough to show him the Way; to draw him out of his evil ways.<\/p>\n

          The believer is expected also to demonstrate patience towards the unbeliever or the listening undecided sinner. He needs to settle down and make a turning around from his old ways of life for the new way, which is the living way.\u00a0 While we show much patience we emphasize the shortness of time prayerfully.\u00a0 Enough patience gives room for the Lord to deal with the unbeliever\u2019s habits, temper, and to make the living way known to the unbeliever.\u00a0 \u201cTime is expensive\u201d, they say, but a lot of it and effort is required for the effectiveness of this process.<\/p>\n

          Prayer is another vital tool for evangelism to be effective. Prayer on the part of the believer for the souls of the lost he is to preach to, so as to get his audience.\u00a0 The devil easily distracts these ones from hearing.\u00a0 He needs to pray too for him to believe after he would have heard.\u00a0 Lastly, the prayer for him to remain in what he has believed.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \n
            What are the hindrances to personal evangelism?<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            The misconception that evangelism is a congregational task is a major hindrance to personal evangelism. This thought makes believers relax without making moves to preach to the unbelievers.\u00a0 Remember the warning the Lord gave in Ezekiel 3:17-18, that the blood of the unbeliever we refuse to preach to will be required of us.\u00a0 Personal evangelism is a command form the Lord and it calls for obedience.<\/p>\n

            We seem to forget too soon the Lord\u2019s suffering on the cross is for all sinners. Instead our time is being devoted to other activities in the Church gathering leaving the reason for our remaining here:\u00a0 reaching out to men.\u00a0 We need to ask ourselves all over again if the Lord suffered in vain.\u00a0 He saved us so that we can reach out to others.\u00a0 The more one acquires knowledge of a thing the clearer and more real it becomes.\u00a0 When the believer lacks the proper understanding of the Word of God or lacks knowledge, then there is no message to be preached.\u00a0 Emphasis should be given to the study of the Word and daily walk with God.<\/p>\n

            Fear is another hindrance to personal evangelism. The thought of \u201chow to I say it?\u00a0 What do I say?\u00a0 What if they don\u2019t listen?\u00a0 Must the Lord save this great sinner?\u201d\u00a0 The believer need not bother himself about these questions that bring about fear and selfishness.\u00a0 The Lord loves all of us, and there are no great sinners.\u00a0 All men are sinners until they are saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 This reasoning made Jonah to attempt running away from going to Nineveh, Jonah 1:1-3.\u00a0 We do not need to be afraid of what to say, the Holy Spirit gives the unction.<\/p>\n

            Sin hinders us from telling our neighbors about our faith. Ponder on this, dear reader, can you mount a stage on your street and proclaim that you have served the Lord and that your neighbors should follow suit?\u00a0 When we do not live well we cannot tell people to follow us.<\/p>\n

            Some people conclude that a sinner cannot be saved for one reason or the other. Giving up on a sinner is another hindrance, A sinner may be deep in sin; the Lord is able to save all sinners!\u00a0 No level of wickedness is too deep for the Lord to pardon and free a man from.<\/p>\n

            Yet, another hindrance is the presumption that the people (or person) have heard. They may have really heard, but can they not hear again?\u00a0 Maybe, just this once and they would make up their minds for the Lord.\u00a0 And what is they have not heard?<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

              \n
            1. \n
              What are the benefits of personal evangelism?<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              In John 15:2 the Lord spoke about the pruning process for those branches that bear fruits so that they will produce more. This is an encouragement from the Lord to help us grow and bear fruits.<\/p>\n

              The believer shares in the rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents, Luke 15:7; Matthew 18:13-14. He is filled with joy for the lost sinner that has come home, just the way heaven rejoices over that same soul. \u00a0Much more, the believer that has won somebody to the Lord has the joy of fulfillment, of doing and living in the Lord\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

              The soul winner will shine like the brightness of the heavens and like the stars forever, because they led many to righteousness, Daniel 12:3.<\/p>\n

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               <\/p>\n

              Daily Living Application:<\/h3>\n

              Did someone help you believe in Jesus? Who?\u00a0 Do you trust that person?\u00a0 Andre brought his brother, Peter, to the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Philip brought his friend Nathaniel to Him as well.\u00a0 Stop and think.\u00a0 Do you have a friend who trusts you?\u00a0 Would you like to tell him\/her about Jesus?\u00a0 Why not try to do it this week and do not stop thereafter.\u00a0 They will listen as you tell them about Jesus.\u00a0 God will be with you when you try.\u00a0 Then pray that they follow Him.<\/p>\n

               <\/p>\n

              Memory Verse:<\/h3>\n

              Mark 16:15 \u2013 \u201cAnd He said to them, \u2018Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Central Thought: It is the responsibility of every believer to reach out to the lost.   Hymn: \u201cMust I Go and Empty Handed\u201d Text: Acts 8:30-39; John 1:40-45; Matthew 10:1-8     The Lord Jesus left an instruction, an assignment, for His early disciples and for His followers who would believe in Him through them. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/SBCV-Evangelism-Home-170314.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1990"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1993,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990\/revisions\/1993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}