Evangelism, by definition, is the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.
We are practicing the spiritual discipline of evangelism when we share the Good News of salvation, forgiveness, and grace.
The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy us. Yes my darling friend, from the very being we had an enemy. He came to destroy you, me, our family’s, our communities, and our nations. If we look around we can surly see his handy work.
BUT…
Jesus came to save us. He came to set us free of shame, guilt, and condemnation. Jesus came to give us peace, love, and mercy. He came so we may have life and have it more abundantly. He came so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying live.
John 10:10
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Have you shared this with anyone lately??
We are all called as believers to share the Good News. Each and every one of us.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:15-16
These scriptures imply that it is the duty of all Christian’s to be in some shape or form missionaries. Making an effort to spread the Gospel. Jesus is asking us to go and tell EVERYONE about Him.
We must all play a part in making the name of Jesus famous. It’s our purpose.
I understand completely if the word evangelism seems scary. It can be overwhelming. Even words such as preaching and teaching, in regards to the Gospel, can seem intimidating. If you feel this way, you are not alone, I’m right beside you.
It may not be easy, but we must be bold.
Stepping out into the unknown and launching out into the deep water, can be frightening.
Joyce Meyer, The Everyday Life Bible
God clearly gave us the purpose of sharing and teaching others about who He is and why we follow Him. He trusted us with the most important mission ever. Some people will be gifted in this area. I am not one of those people, but I don’t want that to deter my purpose. I’m an introvert, communication is not my thing. I understand that I will have to work on developing skills and practice in order to improve my ability to teach and share the Good News. I’m also holding on to the promise in Matthew 28:20-that He will be with me always.
If I’m walking in God’s will, I will have His grace, and He will provide me with the words I need to make the name of Jesus famous.
The Holy Spirit within us will help us teach and spread the Gospel. It’s important to be Spirit led when sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. If we ask God to lead and guide us, He will show us where He wants us to share and teach. I fully believe that if God sees us being obedient in His commands for us to share the Gospel, then He will continuously place us in the right places, at the right times, with the people He wants us to impact.
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
2 Timothy 1:7-8
I believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus is Lord! and I am not ashamed.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
I will not let the enemy’s attempts to fill me with fear, hold me back from saving others. It’s that simple. I believe in Heaven. And I believe in Hell. I want to know that my family, my friends, and my neighbors are saved along with me.
Those who believe will be saved.
How many unbelievers are in your circle of influence??
I know many people who I “do life” with daily, that are not saved. And this grieves my heart. Immensely. I can’t imagine eternity without them. It is my prayer that one day I will watch them one by one come to know Jesus as I have, and I pray that God will use me as His servant to help lead them to Him. I want them to experience moving from darkness to light like I have. I want them to know the peace, love, joy, hope, freedom, and salvation Jesus brings. God knows I want them to have a life that is abundant and blessed by Him. I want them to have His true riches; grace, kindness, and mercy. I want them to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
We all have people we know who are not saved in our lives. I know I am not alone in the above statements. You have prayed the same prayers. Many of us have people who are near and dear to our hearts, and we can’t image them not being with us for eternity in Heaven, let alone imagining them going to a place of evil, suffering, and perpetual fire, to be punished after death.
This is why it is so important for us to become everyday evangelist.
We have the ability to save lives.
We must be the light in all the darkness that exist in the world today. Life change counts on it. Teaching and spreading the Good News of Jesus is not about us, it’s about loving others enough to be brave and bold in our faith to save them. It’s about God. It’s about Jesus. All of Heaven rejoices, when one sinner comes to know God. Do not ever forget where you came from, and who you really are. We are all sinners, and WE ALL need Jesus.
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:7
Together as believers we have the ability and the mandate from Heaven to help change our family’s, our friends, and our communities. We have the ability to help change our nation. We must be passionate out sharing our faith, our testimonies, and giving all the glory to God in everything we do. We must live Godly lives that show others we are set apart and sanctified. We must be intentional about staying deeply rooted in the Gospel and obedient to God’s Word.
I encourage you to use the previous spiritual disciplines within this series to help you practice the spiritual discipline of evangelism. Evangelism feeds off of all other disciplines.
One-Scripture Reading, Memorizing, & Reflecting:
Dig deep into the Word of God. Really get to know Jesus, and the disciples. The New Testament opens with four books called the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, each one giving an account of the life of Jesus. Get to know them. Spend time with them. Make them your friends. And then move on to the letters that were written to spread the Gospel of Jesus, and feel inspired! The more scripture you know and understand, the better you will be able to live out and spread the Gospel.
Pray and ask God to use you to help bring others to Him. Ask Him to lead you to the people He would like you to share the Good News with. Pray that He would give you the wisdom and knowledge needed to efficiently and effectively share the Gospel with others. Ask Him to help you be a light in the darkness to others. I think offering to pray with people is a great way to start a conversation about the Gospel of Jesus.
Fasting allows us to fully embrace God at work in our lives. When we combine prayer and fasting together, along with scripture reading, we allow God to move us in a powerful way. Fasting allows us to realign our priorities and focus on our relationship with God above all other things. During times of fasting, seek God’s guidance on ways to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Fasting IS NOT ABOUT YOU MOVING GOD, instead it is practiced to allow God to move you. Allow Him to move you towards opportunities to teach and spread the Good News and your testimony, and be a witness to Him.
When people see you worshiping it opens up the door for conversation centered around the Gospel of Jesus. Experiencing the presence of God during a worship service can be powerful for believers and non-believers. Extend invitations to people on a regular basis to attend worship gatherings and church services. Help them take their next steps forward in the direction of getting connected and planted within a community of believers. Worship is about praising and loving God, let people see your worship daily. Your demonstration of praise and love for God can draw people towards Him.
The book of Mark focuses on how Jesus was a servant to others. I truly believe by serving others we are directly demonstrating and sharing the Gospel. It is through small acts of love and kindness that the light of Jesus is spread. Serving others places you in the right places, at the right times, to be a witness to God’s mercy and grace. It also provides you with an opportunity to spread the Gospel. Never miss an opportunity to bring Jesus into the center of your acts of service to others.
Take time to be alone and focus on your own personal relationship with God. You can not pour into others from an empty vessel. Make sure you are taking the time to strengthen your relationship with Jesus during quite times of Bible study, reflection, worship, and prayer. You must keep your faith strong in order to fight the good fight.
You will need to use good discernment to follow God’s voice and instruction when sharing the Gospel. The Holy Spirit will lead and guide you not only to the people you are to share with, but also through the actual conversations themselves. There will be a time and place for everything. Practicing the spiritual discipline of discernment will help you be spirit led, acting in God’s perfect timing, will, and grace.
Practicing these seven spiritual disciplines routinely in your life will help you continuously grow in your faith and strengthen your relationship with God. In turn making the spiritual discipline of evangelism less overwhelming, and something you truly find joy in. Honestly, I’ve been practicing, and it truly brings me joy to speak about Jesus.
Once you begin to see transformation within your own life, you’ll want to share your wisdom and your knowledge with others! You’ll want them to experience the same good fruit you are. You’ll want to see them develop a close relationship with God, and start transforming their lives as well!
When you know who God is, when you love others like Jesus commanded, and you are filled with the strength of the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to hold it in! I pray that you are filled with a passion to want to share your faith with EVERYONE! We are changed so that we can change others! We are blessed to be a blessing to others! We all have the same purpose!
Stay strong in your faith day after day! We must fight the good fight.
Preach the word. Endure suffering. Fulfill the ministry God has given you. That’s how you run your race; it’s how you fight the good fight and keep your faith.
Angie Smith, Seamless
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
We are ALL servants of the Lord, and He will use us! We are not responsible for converting people, that is God’s responsibility. Everything we do is to His glory not ours.
We are simply to share the Gospel over and over and over again and trust fully that God is with us, and He will do the rest.
Don’t complicate it.
I love 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, Paul says we are to preach the glad tidings, the Gospel. We don’t have to be verbally eloquent or be a biblical scholar. All we need is a passion for what the Cross means to us. There is great power in simply sharing what the Cross means to you, because to the true believer, it is the manifestation of the power and love of God.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:17-18
Again in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Paul assures us that our method of delivery is best kept simple, and we are not to rely on our own abilities. The Holy Spirit within us will do the work. We just have to be willing to step up and step out in our faith. I love the below verses, because they fill me with confidence.
And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words or wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them], So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 (AMP)
I pray that you have a passion to spread and teach the Gospel. That you feel a calling to help populate Heaven and plunder hell. That you are encouraged and inspired to make the name of Jesus famous. And that at the end, we can all say we fought the good fight, we finished the race, and we finished it well!
Will you be obedient and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone today??
Do you know someone who would be encouraged by this Blog Post? Please share! By doing so you are helping spread His Light to others 🙂
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AND
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As always your thoughts and comments are welcome!! Connecting is so important in forming Godly relationships!
My Darling Friend,
If you joined me on this journey through the 8 Spiritual Disciplines I want to say congratulations! This was our very last one! We made it!
I also want to say thank you. Thank you for sticking with me to the end. What a journey it has been. I had no idea when I started this series what God had in store for me. I never imaged how deeply I would be touched and transformed. God has been working to truly change my heart. I find myself happy to know I’ve written the last one, but sad that we’ve come to the end.
I will continue to practice each discipline in my own life, with a new-found passion that I didn’t possess before I started this series. I’m excited and I can’t imagine what is yet to come.
It’s truly my hearts desire that you have started replacing bad habits with good ones. I pray that you’ll continue to reap the fruit of the spirit, bearing more and more fruit within your life, as you continue to practice these disciplines routinely as well. I hope that you found encouragement and inspiration within each discipline to take steps forward in living a God first life. And that God is working to transform you from the inside out as well.
Above anything else, I pray that your relationship with God is closer than ever, and only continues to grow, because I truly believe it is the most important relationship you will ever have.
If you’re willing to share with me, I would love to hear how your journey went. I’ll place a contact for below.
God bless you!
Love,
Jen
