Personal Evangelism

Lesson 01

Hi, I am pastor Josh Maki from Fargo Baptist Church, and today we will go over personal
evangelism. But before we get into the how, we need to discuss the why. Why is it so
important to speak on personal evangelism? Colossians 4:3-6 says, “Withal praying also for
us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for
which I am also in bonds: 4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in
wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech be alway with
grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

One thing expected of Christians is the ability to speak of Jesus Christ and spread His
gospel message around the world. The ability to speak of things that regard God and the
gospel is important, and we have only so many opportunities to speak with someone about
the gospel. We want to do the best with those chances we receive. That is the goal of this
personal evangelism class. We want you to have the answers for every man and find
opportunities for sharing the gospel and witnessing.

Throughout this class we will go through what I call the “Six C’s.” [imbed the 6 C’s slide
here-slide 3]. And we will begin with commission, or The Great Commission. The Bible
presents to us five references to the commission:

Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world. Amen.”

Mark 16:15 says, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature.”

Luke 24:47 says, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his
name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

John 20:21 says, “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent
me, even so send I you.”

Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Here, we have the five references. I have four small daughters, and when I tell them they
need to do something, I expect it to be done after telling them the first time. Now, when the
God of this universe tells His people not once, but five times, to go out into the world and
preach the gospel, how much more should we listen? This is an important commission or
mandate given to us. And now we will investigate in more detail the passage from Matthew
and look at five different pieces. [imbed slide 5].

First, there is authority. There is an authority that gives us this commission. Jesus said,
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Before Jesus even gave the
commission, He qualified who He was in speaking it. Jesus is the great “I am.” Jesus is God
in the flesh, commanding us to go forth. So, there needs to be an obedience to this authority
and command, and it should not be ignored. In Luke 7:6-9, Jesus heard of a centurion who
had authority and command over soldiers, and whose soldiers would always obey. He had
a sick servant and sent others to Jesus to heal him. What is amazing is this centurion
recognized Jesus had similar authority. He understood who Jesus was, and by simply
making an order that his servant would be healed, it would happen. This amazed Jesus,
and He said, “…I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” We just
need to obey in faith.

Jesus Christ is our Lord. 1 Timothy 6:14-15 says, “That thou keep this commandment
without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his
times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of
lords.” It would be foolish for a soldier, after being given an order from his commanding
officer, to ignore that by making excuses, such as, “I do not feel like it” or “It is not a good
time for me. The only answer acceptable is “Yes, sir.” And then we obey. When the Lord
gives us a command, we need to obey. He has that authority. Luke 6:46 says, “And why call
ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Is Jesus truly the Lord of your life?

Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither
shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your
God which I command you.” In the Old Testament, we see God is concerned with His
commandments. The expectation was to obey and not take away or add to them. Keep in
mind, The Great Commission is a command, it is not simply a request asked of us.

Second, there is the approach. Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” What
did Jesus mean by “Go?” Exodus 23:20 says, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep
thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.” Now, God is
trying to do something incredible with the commission. He wants to reach the whole
planet, and He is preparing a place for us to go. But we need to go! God told the children of
Israel to go into the land to have victory. Verse 22 says, “But if thou shalt indeed obey his
voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary
unto thine adversaries.” God never sends us anywhere where He will not go before us. He
will go and prepare a place for us, and we are basically along for the ride. So, God told
Israel that he would go before them and prepare a place.

Verses 27-30 says, “I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom
thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. 28 And I will
send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite,
from before thee. 29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land
become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will
drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.” As you go
into a field, we will conquer it piece by piece. It will not be fully destroyed when we go in
with The Great Commission. It is little by little. It will not be an overwhelming massive
change, but God will always prepare. There will be some divine appointments. Those that
are ready to hear.

Only two of the twelve spies thought they could conquer the land of Canaan. And only four
out of one hundred Christians are prepared to share their faith. Those spies were to go and
look at the land and bring a report back. Those two spies did their job, and only 4
Christians out of one hundred fulfil The Great Commission. Ninety-six Christians are not
willing to go and fight the spiritual battles. What happens is what happened to the children
of Israel. Deuteronomy 8:2-4 says, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD
thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to
know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or
no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which
thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man
doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the
LORD doth man live. 4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell,
these forty years.”

Here, we see Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Repeating the same thing
and not knowing real victory. They were in a cycle of surviving day by day. And many
Christians have not really seen Jesus work in their lives either. They, too, are just surviving
day by day. The world is tough, but God will always take care of his people. Are we just
satisfied with having our bellies filled and living day by day? Or seeing real victory and
something great happen in our lives, as God uses us. The only way that is possible is if we
obey and will go.

To go is to penetrate where we are. I am in Fargo, North Dakota, and this is the location I
am trying to penetrate. Many of you are scattered across the world and you need to
penetrate the cities, towns, and villages where you are. The Bible compares Christians to
salt and light, but salt that remains in the shaker seasons nothing. A key is useless until it is
used to penetrate the lock. And light cannot dispel the darkness in a room until it
penetrates that room. The thing we are trying to do is help you prepare to be salt and light
in a lost and dying world. They need you to spread the gospel.

Being a missionary does not mean crossing the sea, it means seeing the cross. There are lost
people everywhere, on the wide path to eternal destruction, and we need to warn them in
love that they need a Savior. Again, who is commanded to go in Matthew 28:19? The
answer is “Ye.” Jesus spoke to His remaining eleven disciples. In other words, He
commanded His church to fulfill The Great Commission. There were really no excuses for
those disciples. Peter could have said, “That is not my gift?” or James could have said,
“That really is not my burden” or Thomas could have said, “I doubt this will work.” God
always equips those He gives a command to. They just need to obey and go in faith.

So, what is the purpose of the church? Is it to gather and entertain Christians? Are we only
socializing to have fun? Or are we lifting the name of Jesus Christ so lost souls will be
drawn to Him? Are we going to church to serve one another and Christ? Or only going
through the motions to only look spiritual? We think we are doing God a favor by going to
church. As Christians, what should we emphasize? Should we tell people, “Come, and
see?” or that we need to “Go and tell?” When Jesus gave the command to His disciples, He
did not say the lost were to come to them. He told them to go. The burden is not for the lost
to come to church, the burden is for the Christian to go and tell the lost.

Evangelism is not a spectator sport. Here is a quote, “We are Christian soldiers made to
fight. If we will not fight for lost souls and their righteousness before God, we will fight
each other for our self-righteousness before men.” In other words, if we do not focus on
others, we will focus on self. Often, we see Christians fight over simple offences, instead of
seeing the need of giving others the gospel so that repentance by faith is preached among
them. Also, church is not some Bible club. Where we just get together and talk about a
passage and explain what it means to me. The church and its leadership prepare us for
service. Ephesians 4:12 says, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

We often think a congregation exists to support the leaders, staff, and pastors, since the
pastors and leaders have the responsibility to reach the world. No, the opposite is true.
These have the responsibility to teach and train the congregation, and the congregation has
a responsibility to go [insert slide 24]. Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and
in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” God wanted an
entire generation reached. But we cannot, as individuals or individual churches, reach the
entire world. I am in Fargo, and I am reaching Fargo. Fargo Baptist Church is in Fargo. That
is why The Great Commission was a command given to the church, institutionally. This
was a command then and is still a command now. But are you doing your part?

How big is your vision? Is it limited to yourself? In other words, as long as I am saved,
nothing else matters. That is not loving or Christlike. Maybe our vision is bigger, and we
worry about family and friends. If our loved ones are saved, that is good enough. The Bible
tells us to love our enemies, but how can we love them if we do not warn them? I hope you
have a love and vision for your city. As you go to the store or take public transportation
and see your fellow countrymen and have a heart for them, and for their eternal destiny.
Many times, Jesus looked upon Jerusalem and His people, the Jews. But His vision was not
limited to Jerusalem. God’s vision is greater. North Dakota is a cold state, but I love my
state because God has sent me to this place currently. Perhaps you are in an area, province,
or a country where there are no Christians. Who else is going to reach them with the
gospel? God can use you where you are.
Hopefully, you have a love and a vision for your countrymen. I look at my nation and see a
nation that needs God. My heart breaks for my nation, seeing where it is going. There is no
number of laws, policies, or political influence that will change a people for the betterment
of their country. Only the Bible, God’s holy word, can truly change a people. The Bible calls
Christians ambassadors of Christ and of His kingdom. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Now then
we are ambassadors for Christ…” But here is another question, “Are you making Jesus
Christ your possession, or are you possessed by Jesus Christ?”

Often, we take Jesus and are satisfied that we have Him for ourselves, but He does not
belong to us. We belong to him. We often use God to accomplish what we want, to get what
we want. He is not our possession. So much of what we spend our time on will not matter.
But he that does the will of God abides forever. The only thing that will matter is who is in
heaven. God wants His kingdom filled with souls. And we have been entrusted with the
“word of reconciliation,” the Bible, to help the lost be reconciled to God by being born
again.

It has never been easier to obey The Great Commission. Notice the historical process of
reaching the world [imbed slide 28]. 1. Walking, 2. Beasts, 3. Boats. 1800 years later, 4.
Trains,
5. Telegrams, 6. Telephones, 7. Cars, 8. Planes 9. Television 10. Internet. Early on, it was very
difficult, but the Bible says they turned the world upside down. We have so many tools at
our disposal. Today, we can have the Bible in our pockets on our phones. Paul had to carry
scrolls. We really have many advantages to reach the world today, but the Lord needs
laborers. And especially with the human population increasing. God cannot use
bystanders. We have been called and commissioned, and Jesus has the authority. Next time,
we will pick up on the third piece to the Great Commission, the assignment. Thank you.