Sermon: "Evangelism - You Don't Have to Fit a Mold That Isn't You"
Our scripture lesson this morning is just three verses, but they are three verses that make many Christian uncomfortable. Here are the first two.
MATTHEW 28:19-20 – 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
And now the third one.
ACTS 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
These three verses are our orders from Jesus and they clearly show us that we need to be involved in evangelism. Evangelism is nothing more than sharing with people the good news about salvation through faith in Jesus. Most Christians know evangelism needs to take place, but they believe it should be done by someone else.
The following testimony is how many Christians feel.
That was it – I had written off personal evangelism and was ready to invest my time and energy elsewhere. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in it anymore. I knew it was important, biblical,and the only way most people would find Christ. Clearly, it was something somebody ought to be doing. But not me. Not anymore.
You see, I’d signed up for a summer long tour of duty helping a church with evangelism. It was a great church and the people I served with were wonderful. But the primary way we tried to spread the message was through a knock-at-the-door-and-talk-fast-before-they-close it methodology.
When summer ended and I went home, I was thankful I had signed up but glad it was over. Evangelism, I concluded, is for people with a certain kind of personality and temperament – a kind I clearly didn’t have.
That was Mark Mittelberg’s testimony. I share it with you to give you hope, for later Mark became Director of Evangelism for one of the largest churches in America and wrote a book called, Becoming a Contagious Christian.
Some of what we are going to be studying this morning has its roots in an article written by Mark for Discipleship Journal.
How did Mark go from wanting nothing to do with evangelism, to becoming a Director of Evangelism? Of course, we know that God does those kinds of things. That is, he often chooses the unlikely to accomplish his purposes. The other thing that happened was that as Mark studied the scriptures he discovered that there were different styles of evangelism. He came to realize you don’t have to fit a certain mold in order to be able to share the good news about Jesus with other people.
This morning we are going to look into God’s Word and study the evangelism styles Mark discovered.
You can share Jesus with others by using the evangelism style that best suits your personality.
As we look at …. SIX BIBLICAL STYLES OF EVANGELISM … seek to discover which style or styles best suits you so that you can become more active in obeying the commands Jesus gave us.
The first style is not one that fits a lot of people, but it can be very effective. It is the …
I. CONFRONTATIONAL APPROACH
In the Bible, Peter is a good example of someone who used this approach.
Peter had a confrontational personality. He was not afraid to speak and he did everything full force. Peter was the first disciple to confess that Jesus was the Messiah.
That required boldness on Peter’s part but later his quickness to confront got him into trouble. Peter disagreed with Jesus and challenged him head on.
MATTHEW 16:21-23 – 21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
On the other hand it was Peter’s direct approach to things that enabled him to walk on water. When Peter and the other disciples were in a boat and saw Jesus walking on top of the water out to them Peter said …
MATTHEW 14:28-29 – 28“Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” 29“Come,” he said.
But it was also Peter’s direct approach to things that got Peter in trouble when the Jews came to arrest Jesus.
MATTHEW 26:50b-54 – 50bThen the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51With that one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
Of course it was Peter who drew his sword. But it was Peter with his confrontational approach that God choose to use on the Day of Pentecost to preach the sermon where three thousand people came to trust in Jesus. Here is just one example of his direct approach in that message.
ACT 2:36 – Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
There are some people who will not come to Jesus until someone holds their feet to the fire. They are just waiting for someone who will confront them with the good news about Jesus and challenge them to receive Jesus as their Lord.
If you are a person with strong opinions and convictions, who likes to get right to the point, who is bold and confident, then you should be confronting others with the good news about Jesus. Everyone will not hear you, but many will.
If the confrontational approach does not fit you, you may want to use the …
II. INTELLECTUAL APPROACH
The Apostle Paul is a good example of a biblical character who used this approach. The intellectual approach was very natural for the highly educated Paul. He was very quick to debate anyone who might challenge his positions. The foundation of the intellectual approach to sharing Jesus with others is logic. Read any of the books in the Bible written by Paul and you will see a logical presentation of the gospel.
Paul’s intellectual approach was great when he spoke to the philosophers in Athens. That account is recorded in Acts chapter seventeen. Paul starts with one of their idols to an unknown God and moves them to the one true God and the resurrected Messiah. He even quotes some of their poets. His intellectual approach was effective with some of the people.
I did a survey of our pastoral staff and this is Pastor Brian’s natural approach to evangelism.
If you are an analytical and logical thinker; if you are inquisitive and like to debate ideas and if you are concerned more with what people think then what they feel, the intellectual approach would be a very natural way for you to share Jesus with others.
The next approach to evangelism we want to study is called …
III. THE TESTIMONIAL APPROACH
There are various examples of this approach in the Bible, but we will use the blind man healed by Jesus. Here is part of the account.
JOHN 9:1-3 – 1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
JOHN 9:6-11 – 6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word mean Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded. 11He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
JOHN 9:13-15 – 13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
JOHN 9:24-33 – 24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
Don’t you love the simple way this man shared his faith about Jesus. He didn’t get in anybody’s face with the gospel. He didn’t reason with anyone based on what the scriptures teach. He just shared what Jesus had done in his life.
Many people won’t respond well to a direct challenge like Peter would give and they might turn away from someone like Paul who would like to have a logical debate, but they may respond to a story of how God has worked in your life.
On our pastoral staff Pastor Bill’s natural approach to evangelism is the testimonial approach. Remember your testimony does not have to be as dramatic as the blind man’s. Ordinary stories of what God has done in your life connect with ordinary people.
If you speak simply, and are a good listener; if you are willing to share about your personal life and are amazed at how God has worked in your life; if you see a link between your own experience and what others are experiencing, the testimonial approach would be a very natural way for you to share Jesus with others.
That brings us to the fourth evangelism style. It is called the …..
IV. INTERPERSONAL APPROACH
A biblical character who used this approach was Matthew.
Luke tells us about Matthew’s conversion and what he did after he became a follower of Jesus.
LUKE 5:27-29 - 27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
Matthew wanted all of his friends and associates to come to trust in Jesus. In an attempt to expose them to Jesus he invited them to a banquet where Jesus would speak. Matthew used the relationships he had developed with others. He was willing to spend time with them. To eat with them.
Matthew cared about his friends and was willing to use the trust and respect he had earned to influence them to trust in Jesus.
Being someone’s friend gives you a great possibility of influencing them to come to trust in Jesus.
On our pastoral team Ray, Jim and Todd have the interpersonal approach as their primary approach to evangelism.
If you enjoy talking to people and are a compassionate person; if you are sensitive to the needs of others and enjoy friendships; and if you tend to focus on people and their needs, it would be very natural for you to share Jesus with others through the interpersonal approach to evangelism.
Are you starting to discover what Mark Mittelberg discovered … you can share Jesus with others in a way that fits who you are?
The fifth approach to evangelism is the ….
V. INVITATIONAL APPROACH
The biblical example we will use for this approach is the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well.
Jesus and his disciples were walking from one town to another. They stopped at a well outside a town. Jesus waited at the well while his disciples went into town to purchase food. While he was waiting at the well a woman who had gone through five different husbands and was currently living with another man came to the well to draw water.
She had no doubt hoped to draw her water when no one was around because of her reputation.
Jesus spoke with her and she came to believe he was, indeed, the Messiah. Listen to what she then did.
JOHN 4:28-29 – 28Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
Here is what happened as a result of her invitation.
JOHN 4:30, 39-42 – 30They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41And because of his words many more became believers.
42They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Many of you know the name George Barna. He is a researcher who conducts various polls concerning Christianity. One of his polls showed that 25% of the adults in the United States who do not go to church would do so if they were invited.
Think of all the opportunities you have at Five Forks to invite people to attend. Of course, there are all the Sunday morning and Wednesday evening services. But there are also special Sunday evening services, the Easter Sunrise Service, the Christmas Dinners and the Christmas Eve Services. There is the Archery ministry and banquet and the ladies group called Common Bond that is also open to everyone.
If you enjoy being around people and are able to persuade people to do things; if you enjoy meeting new people and are committed to your faith in Jesus, and if you are able to see our worship services and church programs as an opportunity to expose people to Jesus and his Word, then the invitational approach to evangelism should come very natural to you.
The last approach to evangelism that we will look at this morning is called the …
VI. SERVING APPROACH
We can see this approach in many biblical characters, but the example we will use this morning is Dorcas.
Here is what the Bible has to say about Dorcas and serving.
ACTS 9:36 – In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.
If you are patient with people and truly care about others; if you find joy in helping others and attach value to even menial tasks; if you show your love through actions more than words, then the serving approach may be a natural way for you to be involved in evangelism.
This is my primary evangelism approach. I enjoy helping people and this often gives me an opportunity to talk to them about Jesus.
CONCLUSION
Of course, none of us fit perfectly into any one style and there may be other approaches you could suggest.
The key is to be yourself. God created you and gave you various abilities and gifts, and if you will allow him, he can use you to bring people to trust in Jesus.
If you truly desire to obey Jesus’ command to you, you can. Listen to his command again …
MATTHEW 28:19-20a – 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20aand teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Allow God to lead you as you express your faith naturally to those around you. Remember there are at least six evangelism approaches:
- Confrontational
- Intellectual
- Testimonial
- Interpersonal
- Invitational
- Serving
Choose the one that fits your personality and go share Jesus with others.