"Evangelism—What Is My Part?" By Jesse Rairdon October 11th,
2015
Please remain standing. I’m going to ask Brother Bill A. to come and
lead us in prayer for the message. Mark 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me,
and I will make you to become fishers of men. He didn’t say that you will
automatically be one, but, He will
make you to become one. There’s a process to becoming a fisher of
men. You don’t come out of the tank and
become a fisher of men right away. You
learn some things first, you know what I mean?
Last week, Parrish talked about
main topics: 1.
When trouble comes. All things work together for the good, so,
when trouble comes, it’s for a reason.
Especially for we, as believers.
There’s a reason for it. 2. And he
talked about how we’re going to be put on display, for all to see this light,
the Gospel. 3. He talks
about, what is our purpose? He went into
letting our light hone. That is our
purpose. Ephesians 4:11-12 And he gave
some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors
and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ: Bill mentioned that in his prayer,
that we would all be edified. There’s
reasons for these callings, for these things in the church, these people, these
positions, if you will, in the ministry.
It’s not so that they can look good, not so that they can be glorified,
it’s so that everybody can be edified, so that the work of the ministry can go
forth. So, specifically, we’re going to
talk about ‘evangelist,’ today, the calling of an evangelist. The Greek definition: 2099. euaggelistes
yoo-ang-ghel-is-tace' from 2097; a preacher of the gospel:--evangelist. Quite simply, a preacher of the
Gospel. Also, another definition: Evangelist: 1. A
preacher or publisher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, licensed to preach, but
not having charge of a particular church. Paul, in his letter to Timothy,
admonished him to do the work of an evangelist. 2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in
all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry. So, Timothy’s ministry, part of
that, was an evangelist. Make full proof
of your ministry. Before we get into the meat of the
message, let’s talk a little bit more about an example of an evangelist at
work. Let’s talk about Philip the
evangelist. Kind of like our Philip,
here, he goes to the base, and shares with people. This Philip the evangelist goes and shares
the Gospel, preaches the Gospel to people. Remember, church, Parrish talked
about trouble comes, so, this was a time that trouble came. Stephen had just been stoned; a very faithful
man, living, and letting his light shine, and for that, he was stoned. Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death… Now, this is Saul, before he was
Apostle Paul. Many of you are not
familiar with that; that’s before he was changed to Paul. He wrote most of the letters of the New
Testament, but, at this time, he was an enemy of the church, an enemy of
Christ. Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution
against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad
throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. Acts 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad
went every where preaching the word. Acts 8:5-6 Then Philip went down to the city of
Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto
those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Letting his light shine. Doing the work of an evangelist. Though he couldn’t do nothing but glorify
God; that’s letting your light shine, right?
That your Father be glorified…
Amen? Acts 8:7-8 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice,
came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies,
and that were lame, were healed. And
there was great joy in that city. See, an evangelist sometimes has
to go preach to a lot of people. It’s
not just one person, sometimes it’s a whole city that he gets sent to. Amen?
Now, sometimes people get confused, because the religious world looks at
somebody who just stands in a pulpit and goes to another church and
preaches. These evangelists in the Bible,
I see, went to the lost, they went to where there was no Gospel, and people saw
the miracles of God, and people were saved.
Amen? So, there was great joy in
that city. Acts 8:9 But there was a certain man, called Simon,
which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of
Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: Acts 8:10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least
to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. Acts 8:11 And to him they had regard, because that of
long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. Be careful who you get led by. Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the
things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were
baptized, both men and women. Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when
he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles
and signs which were done. “This is nothing like I could do
before,” he was probably saying to himself.
“This is real.” Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them
Peter and John: Acts 8:15-17 Who, when they were come down, prayed for
them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them:
only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they
received the Holy Ghost. Let’s skip down to verse 26; let’s
go to Philip again. Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip,
saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from
Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. Acts 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of
Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians,
who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to
worship, So, he was Jewish, and he was come
to Jerusalem to worship. He was also a
man of great authority, you know? This
is a queen of a country, and this person’s in charge of her treasury, he holds
the purse-strings. So, he’s a Jew; he’s
come to worship. God sets things up. God was preparing this man to receive the
Gospel. Acts 8:28-29 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot
read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit
said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Imagine how much in tune you have
to be with God. Go here, go there,
exactly; very specific. Acts 8:30-36 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him
read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should
guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was
this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his
shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In
his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his
generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I
pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began
at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto
a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me
to be baptized? So, somewhere in that preaching of
Jesus, the evangelist was doing, he sees the need to be baptized. “Look!
There’s some water; what’s hindering me to be baptized?” Acts 8:37-40 And Philip said, If thou believest with all
thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and
the eunuch; and he baptized him. And
when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away
Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing
through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. So Philip was just going wherever
God told him to go. Whether it be one,
or many, God said, “Go here.” If you’re
not willing to preach to one person, why are you going to be willing to preach
to many? If you’re not willing to share
with your neighbor, let your light shine with your neighbor, how are you going
to say that you’re an evangelist, or you want to get up and get some pulpit
time, or some face time? That hit hard
into someone. It got really think in
here. I don’t apologize for God; I don’t
apologize. So what is my part in this
evangelism? What if I’m not called to be an evangelist like Philip? Little ol’ me, Jesse, what does this got to
do with me? How do I let my light
shine? That’s what I hope to answer in
these next three parts: 2. Sharing
is caring. 3. God’s
part/my part. Part 1 – Let Your Light
Shine. Parrish shared
this last week: Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A
city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and
put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that
are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Stephen, when he went to get
stoned that day, do you think he thought that part of his light would be getting
stoned? Do you think he woke up that
morning and said, “I’m going to get stoned today; that’s what I’m looking
forward to?” He was just out, letting
his light shine, being on display, letting people know that Jesus was the
answer, but they killed him for it. Let
your light shine; you can’t hide it.
What is our purpose? To let your
light shine. I am on display, me. I am on display wherever I go. Wherever I go. With family, in the house. It talks about being in the house. Let your light shine among men so they would
see your good works and glorify your Father.
Every day, the song says, I will be a light that shines Your name. Every day.
We sang that song today. Do we
let our light shine every day? Not only
the days where I really kind of feel like it, every day. We’re an example. Whenever everybody else is mad and cursing
and angry about situations, am I letting my light shine? When they’re feeling the loss of a loved one,
am I letting my light shine? When I can’t
make all the bills this month, am I letting my light shine? When I’m having basic trouble at work, am I letting
my light shine? This takes preparation: Proverbs 16:1 The preparations
of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and be ready… Sometimes? Only on the week-ends, when I’m asked
to? Only special times when we talk about
it? Always. If I have sin in my life, I need
to get that right with God first before I can share with others, because the
light is going to be dim, or shut off. I
need to have the light. Get the sin out. Ephesians 6:15 [part of the armor of God] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; See, preparation covers, protects
your feet. How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the Gospel (Romans 10:5), and bring glad tidings and good
news. If you’re not prepared, you can’t
cover them beautiful feet, amen? So,
part of being prepared, is having that preparation of God, seeking God; “What
should I say? Where should I go? What should I do? Guide me.
Protect me. Use me.” I also need to learn from God. Part of letting my light shine is learning
from God. Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the
learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary:
he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 2 Timothy 2:15-26 Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. But
shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of
whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying
that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity. But in a
great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood
and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these,
he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use,
and prepared unto every good work. Flee
also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them
that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing
that they do gender strifes. And the
servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And
that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will. Amen. See, even in that time, there were people
trying to overthrow what the truth was, trying to overthrow the faith of some
and taking what’s not Gospel, and saying it’s Gospel; saying that the
resurrection was already past, and confusing some, causing confusion in the
church. You’ve got to really learn from
God what is right and wrong so that you can withstand this, so that you can
share with others. If someone comes to
you with a false doctrine, you’re going to be able to say, “That’s not right. It says here in the scriptures, if an angel
or anybody else gives you another gospel than those which have been preached to
you, let them be accursed (Galatians 1:8), and you’re trying to bring me
another Gospel. That’s not what I learned. That’s not how I learned Christ.” But, if you don’t learn from God, if you don’t
take the time to study, if you’re always taking what I tell you, or someone
else tells you, or some other person’s trying to throw you some other gospel,
even though they might be nice to you, it doesn’t mean it’s right. Get that sin out; depart from iniquity. You’ve got to really prepare to let your light
shine by letting God be sanctified in your life. Revisit sanctification again. I know we went through the month of
sanctification, but revisit it again. Go
back through those things in your life. Bring out those things and look at them. Get those skeletons out of the closet. It says, “Flee youthful lusts.” (2 Timothy
2:22) If you’re young right now, bless
you. It’s a difficult time in this
world. You’re dealing with a lot of
things that I didn’t have to deal with.
With the media, and access to things that are readily available now that
weren’t when I was your age, but you’ve got to flee those things. That is a particular calling and a purpose
that he has on your life that He wants your light to shine, even where you’re
at, no matter your age. You don’t have
to be as old as me to share the Gospel with people, amen? There is a lot of meat in that, so
look over that more on your own time; I’m going to keep moving on. Part 2 Sharing Is Caring. You’ve heard that expression. A lot of people heard it, used it; it gets
thrown around a lot, but it really is, it talks about the Gospel. You really have to care for people to share. Proverbs 3:27-28 Withhold
not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to
do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will
give; when thou hast it by thee. Proverbs 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his
ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
There is the seriousness of
it. If you have something to give and
you just ignore people that need it, when you cry, you’re not going to be
heard. That’s a serious thing. We all have a part. Amen? Do
I really care? Do I really care enough
to let my light shine? Today?
Tomorrow? Tonight? On my own time? When I’m posting on Facebook? Wait a minute, on Facebook? Yes, that gets around faster than most any
other source of media. I tell you what, I
post something, and in an hour, people are going to be questioning, maybe
calling me about it. That moves
quick. Be careful what you say and
do. Not everybody needs to know about
your troubles. Give it to God; let your
light shine. Share some good things. Amen?
That’s enough about that; I’m going to stop preaching about that. We all know about that. What good am I to God if don’t
share or let my light shine? Matthew 5:13 “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the
salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good
for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” I don’t want to get to the place
where I’m good for nothing. Part 3 Gods Part/My Part So, this evangelism thing, this
letting my light shine, what is my part in all this? What does God have for me to do? And what is God’s part? Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy
bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after… One day? A few hours?
Ecclesiastes 11:1 …many
days. Ecclesiastes 11:2 Give a
portion to seven, and also to eight… Ecclesiastes 11:2 …for
thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. Giving to others, sharing, is my
part. Worrying about what the devil is
doing is God’s part. We are not ignorant
of the devil’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11), but, worrying about it, that’s God’s
part. Let God worry about the
devil. You just cast your bread upon the
water, because you’re not going to know what evil is upon the earth. You don’t know what’s coming, you don’t know
what’s there. Paul said, “When I go to
do good, evil is always present,” (Romans 7:21) so just continue to cast your
bead upon the water. Just continue to do
good. Amen? Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the
clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree
fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree
falleth, there it shall be. Ecclesiastes 11:4-5 He that
observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not
reap. As thou knowest not what is the
way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with
child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. Worrying about what is happening
with what I share, that’s Gods part. Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the
morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou
knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both
shall be alike good. That’s the message for today. God bless you. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
|
|
|
|
