Evangelism And Tranformation Part I

"Wake up, O sleeper" Ephesians 5:14

Rev. Christopher Walker

www.EvangelismCoach.org

http://www.evangelismcoach.org/

What Is EvangelismCoach.org?

• Website Resource– Personal Evangelism– Church Growth– Free Downloads– Book Reviews– Monthly Newsletter– RSS Feed

• Evangelism Training– Distance 1-1 Coaching and

Mentoring – Live Training Events

• Throughout the Americas

What Is EvangelismCoach.org?

Who is Chris Walker?

• Ordained Pastor in the PC USA– Associate Pastor (7 years)– Youth Ministry (15 years)– Church planter (5 years)

• Master of Divinity Trinity Evangelical

• Master of Theology– Union Theological, Richmond

Six Great Ends of the Church

• The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind

• The shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God

• The maintenance of divine worship• The preservation of the truth• The promotion of social righteousness• The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to

the world

Definition of Evangelism

Joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God, and

calling people– to repentance– to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior

and Lord– to active membership in the church, and – to obedient service in the world.

Definition adopted by the 202nd General Assembly, 1990

Personal Evangelism

• Joyfully sharing . . . .– Conversations– Experiences with God

• Calling people to . . . . . . – Conversion– Making Disciples

State the Obvious

We’re not good at Evangelism

Uncertainty

• Our message• Truth in a relative age• The value of our message

Lack of Experience

They do it Better

Evangelism Avoidance

Attractional Addictions


Educate our members


Service Projects

Forgotten our Theology

Why the Gospel is Good News

What Propels us?

Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks - Jesus

“Because God loves us,

we ought to love one another.”

1 John 4:11

God’s Nature: Love

• God loves us–John 3.16 and others

• His very nature is Love–1 John 4:8,16.

Nature of God

• Unfathomable depths– “May have the power to grasp how

wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ – and to know that this love surpasses all knowledge.” – Ephesians 3:18-19

• God’s sovereign love is a mystery beyond the reach of man’s mind (PCUSA Confession of 1967, 9.15)

Explored in Worship

• Oh what wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse?

• Your love is amazing, steady and unchanging,Your love is a mountain, firm beneath my feet,Your love is a mystery, how You gently lift me,When I am surrounded, Your love carries me.

Explored in Worship

• O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me! – Trevor Francis.

God’s Nature: Community

• The trinity

• A fellowship of love.

Created in God’s Image

• To experience Relationship with God– Adam and God.

• To experience Relationship in community.– It’s not good for the man to be alone (Gen

2.18)

• Offered oneness “one flesh” with each other.

Sin Entered the Picture

Broken Community

• Shame, Death, Disunity

• Separation• Injustice• Image of God not

destroyed• Desire to belong to

God is still deep in our heart.

• A deep desire to be unconditionally loved.

God’s pursuit of humanity

• Adam, where are you?

God’s pursuit of humanity

• Creation of the Chosen People

– Blessed to be a blessing to the nations.

• The covenant promise

– I will be their God and they will be my people.

God’s Pursuit of Humanity

• Prophets to pursue the people back into a right relationship.– “Come now, let us

reason together.”

• Expansion of the covenant– “Not my people” to

become “My People.”

God’s Pursuit

Came to

Seek and Save

the Lost

Lost People Matter to God!

• Lost sheep, Lost coin, Lost son.

• Intentional pursuit of Samaritan woman.

• God so loved the world that he gave.

The Pursuit Continues

• Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them . . . and teaching them . . . “

Matthew 28:19-20

To Gather the Nations

• Revelation 7:9– “After this I looked

and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count,

– from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.”

The Father’s Heart

• God longs that no one should perish (1 Tim 2.4)

• God did not send the Son to condemn the world, but to save it. (John 3.17)

• The lake of fire was prepared for the devil and his angels not you (Matt 25.41).

God’s Initiative

• “For God was pleased – to have all his fullness dwell in Christ and

through him – to reconcile unto himself all things . ..

By making peace through his blood shed on the cross.”

(Colossians 1:19-20)

God’s solution

• Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

• But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical death to present you holy and blameless (Colossians 1:21-22)

The Marvel of Grace

• “We who were once far away were brought near.” (Eph 2.13).

• Though we were dead in our sin, God made us alive in Christ – Eph 2.

Lost in Wonder

• God’s Pursuit• God’s Initiative• Chosen, pursued,

adopted, anchored• Totally Undeserved

Amazing Grace

• Outrageous, exorbitant, overflowing, and reckless. • The inebriation of grace

– Suck the words out of my mouth, – Make the lips quiver in awe.

• Intoxicated on the passion of God’s immeasurable love.

The fuel for evangelism

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the

church.

Worship is.

Missions exist because worship doesn’t. . . .

Worship is the fuel and the goal in

missions.”

John Piper

Theological Reflections

“Because God loves us,

we ought to love one another.”1 John 4:11

Ought = Logical Consequence

Forgotten our Theology

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism

Evangelism is a Process

• Plant• Nourish• Harvest• A series of events

Evangelism is an event

• Conversations• Revelations• Reflections• Sermons

Begins with God

• Sovereign over the process• Sovereign over the event• God takes the initiative

– To create spiritual thirst.– To draw a person unto Himself– To give new life when we are dead in

our sin.

Think about your journey

• How many conversations did you have?• How many different people?• How many sermons did you listen to?• How much Bible reading did you do? • What events did God use?

Holy Spirit Works Both Sides

• In your journey to faith, the Holy Spirit – Worked on your life– Worked around your life.– Awakened your faith to respond– Sealed you in faith

Created Thirsty

• God has given us awareness of Himself in– Creation (Romans 1:20-22)– His moral law (Romans 2:14-15)

Created Thirsty

• A spiritual longing inbuilt in us– Reflection of the image of God.– The God shaped vacuum – Pascal.– “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our

hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” – St. Augustine

• Quest of The Teacher – Ecclesiastes

The Teacher’s Thirst

• The teacher (Ch 2) tried:– Wild living (v 1-2)– Wine (v.3)– Work (v.4)– Wealth (v 7-8)– Women (v.8)– Wisdom (v. 12)

• Resolution– “Now here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear

God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man.” (12.13)

Reactions to Thirst

• Some suppress this longing– “There is no one who seeks for God” –

Psalm 14.2, quoted in Romans 3.11).– Psalm 14.3 – “all have turned aside.”

• Some rebelled– The preaching of the cross is foolish (1

Cor 1.18)– Suppress the truth (Romans 1:18-23)

Reactions To Spiritual Thirst

• Merchant looking for the fine pearl.– He knew that it existed and went looking

for it.

• The Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8)– “How can I unless someone explain it to

me?”

• The Athenians (Acts 17)– “May we hear more of this teaching?”

Created Thirsty

• Other Terms to describe the longing– to be more, to do more, – to make a contribution, – to find true destiny, – to find a place in this world– to make a difference, – to know God, – to be a good person, – to have real hope of life after death

Common Thirsts

• Forgiveness• Removal of Guilt• Belonging• Healing

– Physical– Emotional

• Guidance• Internal Peace

Jesus is the water of life

• John 4:14– Whoever drinks of the water that I

shall give will never thirst.

• John 6:35b– . . . he who believes in me will

never be thirsty.

• John 7:37– If anyone is thirsty, Let him come

to me and drink.

God takes the Initiative

• John 6:44– No one can come to me unless the Father

draws them.

• God created the thirst, so that it could be fulfilled in Jesus.

• God draws people to Jesus.

How the Holy Spirit Directs Evangelism

• Draws us to Jesus (John 6:44)• Convicts one of sin, righteousness and

judgment. (John 16.8)• Helps one respond to God’s grace (John

1:12, 3:5-8).• Makes us spiritually alive to respond.

God Takes the Initiative

• We were dead in our trespasses (Eph 2)• We were enemies of God (Col 2).• God took the initiative:

– To make us thirsty.– To make us spiritually alive (Eph 2)– To respond and accept God’s grace (Eph

2)


• Bringing people into your life– People who explain the

gospel– People who called you to

follow Jesus– People empowered by the

Spirit

Mission began with the Holy Spirit

• Jesus received his mandate and his sense of mission through the empowerment of the Spirit

• “…This is my beloved Son, on whom my favor rests” (from Matthew 3:16-4:1– Jesus’ baptism)

Empowered Church

• “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and all over Judea and Samaria, and away to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)

Spirit Empowerment

• Pentecost provides the power, gifts and directions for the fulfillment of the Great Commission

• This is the empowering work of the Spirit for the purpose of bearing witness to Jesus and doing His ministry!

How the Holy Spirit directs evangelism

• …calls, sends and anoints people as witnesses to Jesus – “While they were worshipping the Lord

and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:1-4)

• Initiative in choosing workers – the Holy Spirit’s.– We discern, seek guidance, confirm it, obey.

How the Holy Spirit Directs Evangelism

• Guides prayer – for the harvest,

Matt. 9:36-38 – for missions,

Romans 8:26-27

• Gives a people-specific love and passion


• Provides the power tools for Kingdom advancement– The whole assembly became silent as they

listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them (Acts 15:12)

– The role of Spiritual gifts


• Guides and directs in spiritual warfare

• “as the HS advances the Kingdom of God he will inevitably have to engage demonic powers and strongholds that intend to keep people in bondage and blindness.”

• Casting out demons for many – prepares the way for the Gospel!

How the Holy Spirit Guides Evangelism

• Gives direction– About where to Preach the Gospel

• Paul in Macedonia.– Kairos moments to speak of Christ.

• Paul and Lydia on the beach at Philippi.– What to share– How to share


• Kairos Moment – the intersection of two stories– Paul and Ananias.– Peter and Cornelius– Phillip and the Eunuch.

Kairos Moment

• Greek words for time:– Kronos– Kairos

• Skill: recognize a Kairos Moment– Heaviness, holy silence, fullness– Strong sense that God is about to do

something

Our participation

• Listen– Guidance of the Holy

Spirit – Spiritual Thirst of the

person

• Discern God’s work• Cooperate with it.

Contact information

Rev. Christopher Walkerwww.EvangelismCoach.org

804/335-1445Skype: WalkmanPTY

http://www.evangelismcoach.org/

Self Improvement

Evangelism And Tranformation Part I