The Importance of Evangelism (Part I)

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There are billions of people who are lost and without a shepherd. People need to hear about Jesus and find out who He is and what He has done for them. Is the Great Commission something that we live out in our lives!?

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.  Matthew 28:19-20

After Jesus was resurrected, He showed Himself to His disciples and gave them what we call the Great Commission. This was a restoration of what was lost in the garden when God created Adam and Eve.

therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. Genesis 3:23

God had driven Adam and Eve out of the garden due to their disobedience, and they were cursed with tilling the hard ground and working very hard to be able to survive life as orphans. However, when Jesus went to the Cross and won over the powers of darkness, He redeemed God’s broken relationship with humanity. He invited people to come to Him and told His disciples to follow Him, so they can become like Him and learn to be fishermen of men.

Upon Jesus’ resurrection and the the subsequent baptism of the Holy Spirit, His disciples had a job to do that He entrusted to them. Now, they were going out to bring the lost home. The door to the Kingdom of God had reopened, and those who were weary and burdened were invited to come home! His disciples belonged to Him, and they were going to be fruitful and multiply just as God hard originally ordained it in the beginning!

Jesus gave His disciples directives as to how to execute the Great Commission:

The disciples had to go out to a lost world. They were not supposed to remain and only associate with like-minded people. There is a world out there that needs to hear the Good News of what Jesus has done. How often do we interact with people with the desire to reach them for Christ!? Do we have people around us who are unbelievers that we have developed some form of a relationship with them!?

Jesus talked about discipling people, which means helping people to become disciplined followers of Christ. That takes time and effort. It is similar to parenting where the job isn’t done by putting a bottle in the baby’s mouth and thinking you’re done.

There were decades in this country where evangelism was seen as something people did in big stadiums and multitudes came to salvation. Praise God for those who heard the gospel and gave their lives to Jesus. The question is, how many of them were discipled!? It is hard for a new believer to know how to grow on their own. At the same time,  it is hard to mentor and disciple a busy adult who is not very available and/or interested in being discipled. The truth is that if we are going to see success in ministry and maturity in the body of Christ, discipling others is non-negotiable.

Furthermore, when we share our faith with others, it is not enough to tell them that God loves them. It is also not enough to say that Jesus died on the cross. We need to tell them why He had to be crucified and why we so desperately need salvation.

One of the things that is very common these days among believers and unbelievers is to call someone a “good” person. What does that mean? Is that Biblical? Of course, there are some nice people who do good, generous, and kind things. But if we can be good on our own, then why did Jesus have to suffer on the cross and die for the sins of humanity?! Many people don’t see themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness. A a result, they don’t have an appreciation for the powerful spiritual transaction that took place on the cross.

Part of the discipleship is  to teach people the word of God. Ultimately the Holy Spirit is the true teacher who convicts, reveals, and provides insight. But we also need men and women who patiently open the word of God and help others to eat it, digest it, and be nourished by it, so they can grow in God!

In addition to teaching the word of God, we need to help people see that true growth in God comes from obedience. We cannot grow in God unless we use the mustard seed of faith and exercise it with God’s grace.

God sent Jesus to the earth, and Jesus is sending us out with His authority. He also tells us that He will be with us to the end of the age. That’s empowering, encouraging, and comforting to know that we are not alone in doing this work. The Lord enables us and goes before us to prepare the way to reach the lost. Thank you Lord!

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True Discernment (Part V)

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Jesus warned us about the hirelings among His sheep. He also spoke about wolves in sheep’s clothing. (See Matthew 7:15 & John 10:12).  These kinds of people are going to be around us, but how do we discern them successfully!?

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14

To discern wolves and hirelings,  it first involves our continual desire to grow in the word of God. Those who put the word of God above the word of man are going to have a greater chance of identifying the hirelings and the wolves in sheep’s clothing.

On the other hand, those who have a celebrity-oriented mentality and quote a preacher more than they quote the scripture are in danger of being deceived. They have learned to rely on man for God’s truth, so when the integrity of the message changes, they are still following the personality not discerning that the message is no longer authentic.

Second, we need to exercise our senses as the above passage tells us.  Just as physical exercise cannot be done by others for us, neither can discernment be done by someone else for us. Others can teach, coach, and encourage us, but we are the only ones who have to exercise our body in order to keep it healthy and strong. Similarly, no one else can do the discerning for us. We cannot rely on others to discern what is good and evil.

If we rely on others for discernment, we will remain weak, unskilled,  and susceptible to being deceived. Our confidence in others’ judgment should not minimize the importance of exercising our own spiritual senses and learning to discern between good and evil.  When people rely on others’ discernment, they remain child-like in various areas of life.

For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  2Timothy 3:6-7

Third, we need to avoid being gullible. Both men and women can be gullible. Those who are gullible are easily persuaded about something. Discerning people are not gullible. They ask a lot of questions and try to discern the motives.

Furthermore, we need stay away from those who flatter us and tell us how special and capable we are. This means we have dealt with our lusts, yearnings, and desires  so we are not baited by others’ flattery. What is the motive of the flattery? Are they trying to encourage you to rise higher in Christ or are they trying to make you discontent with your current circumstances?

Based on the above passage, gullible people think they lack knowledge. Instead, they need to exercise their discernment, so they can gain a heart of understanding and avoid falling for various claims someone makes.

I have seen individuals being manipulated, and they did not even know what was happening to them.  They relied on their natural senses, affection, and familiarity with the person, and they completely missed the person’s manipulation. Generally, the manipulators are smart enough to give it time and earn people’s trust before they manipulates the person.

If we are going to be discerning people, we need to pay more attention to someone’s actions than words. If people’s actions are not matching up with their words, it should raise a flag for us.

Regardless of our level of relationship, we cannot abdicate our responsibility for being discerning. This is especially important if we are in a leadership role. Our allegiance to Christ and His flock should supersede our natural affections. We need to remain alert and discerning for the sake of the Kingdom, so the sheep can be protected.

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The Fallacy of Self-Improvement (Part III)

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Self-efort may help to develop some of the gifts and talents that God has blessed us with, but it can’t develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Only the Lord and His process can produce the fruit of the Spirit!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Our self-effort can bring about natural success and even ministry success, but it will not produce Christ-likeness in our lives. While we need to do our part in growing in God, some of us take it to a whole another level and live as if our growth depends entirely on us.

There are those who are on the self-improvement cycle, and a causal observer can deem them impressive.  However, some of these individuals, who appear very mature and knowledgeable, under pressure their character caves in. Some become a bully and intimidating.  Some may gossip about others because they are not getting their way. Others seem calm and collected until someone challenges them and steps on their toes. Then they become aggressive and go for the jugular. Others are intent on competing, deceiving, exaggerating, or lying about their accomplishments to ensure they remain impressive. It is hard to develop the fruit of the Spirit and, at the same time,  walk in carnality!

If you are a driven person, most likely, you are ready to improve anything that is suggested to you. However, not every improvement is from God, and neither should we assume that self-improvement is the solution. Also, we should consider the fact that sometimes our drive to self-improve is because we want to remain in control of the extent and the speed of our growth.

How do we grow without getting into the trap of self-improvement!?

  1. Use your quiet time to get to know Jesus and what He desires in your life. Don’t seek out the scriptures for head knowledge or to be impressive with your depth.
  2. Avoid copying others. Copying someone else is about self-improvement. We all should learn from each other, but we can’t copy others. We are not a product to be duplicated.  A person’s character has to develop over time and through God’s dealings. Choose to wait on the Lord and let Him develop the fruit of the Spirit in you.
  3. Remind yourself that each person’s path is different, and it is not wise to compare yourself to others. Furthermore, you don’t know if others are truly developing in character or if they are also on the self-improvement track. The Comparison makes one believe the lie that they are falling behind or are getting too old. God used many of the Biblical characters well into their 80s.
  4. Refrain from boasting and sharing about what you do in ministry.  Let it remain between you and the Lord. This will help you not to be tempted by man’s applause and to be compelled to gain their applause.
  5. Your title or position should not be your badge of importance. Don’t allow your title or position to change your identity as a much-loved child. If being a child of God does not give you enough importance, you will fall into the trap of self-improvement to maintain your position or worthiness.
  6. Have conversations with God that give Him room to speak. Choose to be quiet and allow God to speak to you. Refrain from doing all the talking.
  7. Learn to say “no” or “yes” as the Lord leads not what seems important or popular to those around you.
  8. Refrain from reading all the posts on social media about those who toot their own horn. That will just drive you to do more and become impressive.

We are all going to be tempted to improve ourselves. However,  when we become aware of it, then we can stop going down that path. Instead, we can pray and surrender ourselves to the Lord, so that He can develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit will develop over time and over various seasons. God has the timetable, and our job is to cooperate with the process and let Him make us ripe and sweet!

 

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