Personal Evangelism and Discipleship: Introduction, Motivation, And the Gospel

1. Personal Evangelism and Discipleship: Introduction, Motivation, And the Gospel Michael Crane MBTS 2012

2. About Me • Family- Karen and two sons: Jaden (6) and Ian (3) • Raised in Southeast Asia • Education- M.Div., Th.M., Ph.D. candidate • Ministry- San Francisco, Indonesia, Malaysia • Currently Director of the Institute of Urban Ministry Studies at MBTS-KV

3. Introduction to the Workshop • Evangelism: Why? What? How? • Teachers and Evangelists • Not a regimented plan or script, but the tools to go down a conversational path

4. Matthew 4:1-22: Jesus is on the move! • Temptation: what was at stake? • Who has control of the kingdoms of the world? • Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry • What is Jesus’ core message? • Building his team • Who does he choose? • What is he going to do with the guys he chooses? • How do the disciples respond?

5. Called to be witnesses “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48, NIV) “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.” (Acts 1:8, NIV)

6. What is evangelism? • Euangelizo (Greek)- good news • In the Greek New Testament the words “gospel” and “evangelize” are very similar: euaggelion and euaggelidzo • There are 127 references to these two words in the New Testament. • Lost in Translation- “preach” means proclaim the gospel

7. Mark Terry’s Definition: “Evangelism is presenting Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit so that people will become His disciples.”

8. What is Evangelism is NOT • It is not everything we do • It is not just encouraging people to join the church • It is not enlisting people in programs and activities (though that may be pre-evangelism) • It is not pluralism (the belief that all religions lead to God) From C. E. Autrey, through J. M. Terry

9. Why bother with evangelism? • God wills it- Gen. 3; 12:1-3; Isaiah 66:18 • Jesus did it- Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 9:35-38; John 4:1-26; John 20:21 • Scripture tells us to do it- Luke 12:8-9; Romans 10:14-15 • The early church did it- Acts 1-28 “They went everywhere gossiping the gospel; they did it naturally, enthusiastically, and with the conviction of those who are not paid to say that sort of thing. Consequently, they were taken seriously, and the movement spread, notably among the lower classes.” (Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church, 243)

10. Motivation to Share the Good News • Wrong motivations? • Right motivations?

11. Motivations to Share • Spontaneous expression- Acts 4:20 • “Announcing the reign of God comes as a spontaneous expression of gratitude, humility, and joy when it occurs in the context of being the forgiven community that embodies the divine reign and signals its character in actions of compassion, justice, and peace.” (Hunsberger, in Guder, The Missional Church,p. 107) • Love and concern- Phil. 1:15-18 • We talk about grandchildren, favorite food stalls, and movies without a second thought. • “Evangelism doesn’t require training. Evangelism requires love. Lack of evangelism means lack of love.” –Leonard Sweet, Soul Tsunami

12. Motivations to Share • Indwelling of the Holy Spirit • Obedience • You are already a witness: A witness to what? • “So the question is not will we witness (speak), but how will we witness?” (Little, How to Give Away Your Faith, 23)

13. Not Sharing is Disobedience “Bishop VedanayakamAzariah of India used to invite people who had just been baptized to place their hand on their own head and say after him ‘I am a baptized Christian: woe unto me if I preach not the gospel.’ People who are not actively involved in fulfilling the Great Commission are being disobedient to Christ.” (AjithFernando, Sharing the Truth in Love, 92)

14. The Gospel: Is it good news? “But - what is the gospel? If we are not clear on that, we surely won’t evangelize very effectively.” (Mark Terry) Discuss in Groups of 3 or 4 • What is the gospel? • Where is the gospel clearly stated in the Bible? • What details are necessary to say the gospel has been shared? • Gospel for Twitter- State the gospel in 140 characters

15. Parts of the Gospel: Diagnosis of Humanity • Proper Diagnosis is essential- “salahmakan” or appendicitis? • Recipient needs to understand the diagnosis- “you had a myocardial infarction” • Sin is “the death that deserves death.”(Dever, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, 35) • Where does the Bible offer a diagnosis of the human condition? • How serious is our condition? • How is our condition overcome?

16. Parts of the Gospel: Nature of God • God is Holy and Good- • “God is good, and because he is unswervingly, uncompromisingly, unerringly good, he will not accept any kind of evil.”(Dever, 103) • God is Love- • “It is only in the context of understanding something of God’s character, of his righteousness and perfection, that we begin to understand the tremendous nature of saying that God truly is love and his love has a depth, texture, fullness, and beauty to it that we, in our present state, can only begin to wonder at.” (Dever, 37) • Where does the Bible speak of God’s holiness? His love nature?

17. Parts of the Gospel: Solution of the Messiah • Incarnation • Sacrificial Death- • “This is what Jesus presented as the center of his ministry. Not teaching or even being an example, but, as he said, ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45).” (Dever, 38) • Victorious Resurrection • Why is this important for us?

18. Jesus is the Gospel • Jesus talked about the good news of the kingdom • Jesus says that “he is at the center of the kingdom of God.” (cf. Luke 7:22-23; 4:16-30) (McKnight, The King Jesus Gospel) • The gospel is simple and endlessly deep- 1 Peter 1:12- • “There is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ understanding of the gospel.” (Tim Keller, Center Church, 37)

20. What are the outcomes of the gospel? Individual Outcomes • Sins forgiven • Eternal life • Shame is covered • Fear is removed • Relationships are restored • Peace of mind • Clean heart • New life/creation Cosmic Outcomes • Relationship are restored • Divine justice is satisfied • Coming judgment has a bright side • All of creation is restored- shalom • Kingdom of God in its fullness • Evil and the evil are defeated and dethroned • No more suffering

21. Spiritual Preparation for Witnessing • Conversion (John 3:3) • Assurance (John 10:28-29) • Authority (Matt. 28:18-20) • Holiness (1 Thess. 1:5) • Spirit Controlled (Eph. 5:18) • Committed (1 Cor. 9:16) • Compassion (Matt. 9:35-38)

22. The Gospel and Evangelism It is about a relationship not just knowledge-- We must be careful to remember that when we do evangelism, we don’t encourage people to believe about Jesus; we encourage them to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Himself.

23. Basic Principles of Evangelism Methods can be different, but the principles remain the same

24. Principle #1: Prayer • Luke 10:2; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; Colossians 4:2-6, 12; Acts 4:23-31; Daniel 10: 12 • "Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees." - J. Hudson Taylor • “We need to realize that prayer is not just for personal use. Prayer is a ministry. Many matters are piled up in heaven, many transactions remain undone, simply because God is unable to find His outlet on earth. If the church does not have this ministry, she is not much use on earth.” (Watchman Nee quoted in Drumwright, 98) • “Prayer is God’s strategy.” (Drumwright, 131)

25. Principle #2: Trinitarian • Jesus-centered(Luke 24:46-47) • Holy Spirit-reliant(Acts 1:8) • God-honoring (John 1:18; 1 Peter 1:2)

26. Principle #3: Love, Respect, and Dignity • Genesis 1:27; 1 Peter 3:15 • Don’t win the debate and lose the soul • Everyone is made in the image of God and is to be respected

27. Principle #4: Harvest Mentality • Luke 10:2 • Low expectations yield low results because we don’t offer people the chance to confess belief in Jesus

28. Principle #5: Sincere and Simple 1 Cor. 2:1-2 • “…we commonly insist that to propagate the doctrine we must have men who can answer the arguments of opponents. No doubt it is well to have men who can do this, but it is far more important to have men who can witness to Christ simply and truly, for true and simple witness is by far the more powerful weapon. A clever argument may silence opponents, but witness converts them: they see in a deliverance something which all their wit does not supply.” (Roland Allen, Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, 56)

29. Principle #6: Start where they are • John 4; 1 Corinthians 9:19-29 • Listening to them! • This is extremely important! Write it down, two or three times if necessary! • Introverts’ strength • Use concepts, language and terms they can understand • Contextualization

30. Principle #7: Holistic- Felt Needs • Luke 4:18-19 • “The fact is that sin and evil constitute bad news in every area of life on this planet. The redemptive work of God through the cross of Christ is good news for every area of life on earth that has been touched by sin, which means every area of life. Bluntly, we need a holistic gospel because the world is in a holistic mess.” (Chris Wright, The Mission of God, 315) • Buying a vacuum cleaner • Singapore example- pragmatic nature of the holistic gospel is important

31. Principle #8: Demonstrated • Matthew 5:14-16 • Intellectual arguments meaning nothing if they can’t see how the gospel impacts life: “Usually, people aren’t Christians for one of two reasons, it is either because they have never met a Christian, or it is because they do know a Christian.” (Thom Wolf) • Henry Blackaby says: “Our gospel is cancelled by the way we live.”

32. Spiritual Preparation for Witnessing Practical Tips: • Pray for yourself • Pray for the one with whom you will share • Memorize Bible verses • Dress appropriately • Use breath mint • Take someone with you

33. Evangelism and the Holy Spirit Role of the Holy Spirit in Acts • Acts 1:8 – The Holy Spirit is essential to the task • Acts 2:1-4 – The filling of the Holy Spirit precedes effective witness • Acts 4:31 – The filling of the Spirit results in bold evangelism • Acts 6:8 – Bold witnesses are filled with the Spirit

35. Points to Consider • Point or Process? • # of Points of Contact? • Individual or Group?

36. The Laws of Lostology Dr. Mark Terry

37. Laws of Lostology • Being lost can be fun. • No one gets lost on purpose. • Getting lost is easy. • You can be lost and not know it. • You can’t force people to admit they are lost. • Admitting you are lost is the first step toward salvation.

38. More laws • When you are lost, you are out of control. • Just because you are lost, doesn’t mean you are stupid. • It’s tough to trust a stranger. • People ask for directions without revealing their true emotions.

39. Laws, cont. • Directions are always confusing. • Unnecessary details make directions more confusing. • A search reveals your values. • Searches are always costly. • Love pays whatever a search costs. • A search becomes your consuming priority.

40. More laws • A search is always lost-centered, not searcher-centered. • A search is urgent because the lost are in danger. • Coordinate resources to maximize the search.

41. Laws, cont. • Discouragement threatens a successful search. • Waiting is a part of searching. • Successful searches don’t always have happy endings. • If you are searching, the lost may find you. • Always celebrate when the lost are found.

42. Source: • John Kramp, Out of Their Faces and into Their Shoes (Broadman & Holman)

43. Sharing Your Testimony Value of the personal testimony • It is ______________ • It is ______________ • It is ______________ • It is ______________ Personal Authoritative Relatable Experiential

44. Tell Your Story (briefly) • Life before Christ • Salvation experience • New life in Christ Biblical example (Acts 22:3-15) • I have not always been a Christian (vv.3-5) • I committed my life to Christ (vv. 6-13) • My life in Christ is different (vv. 14-15)

45. Example: Good or Bad? “I was born in a good God-fearing, church-going family. When I was four I remember lying to my parents. Even at such an early age I recognized my wretched state of total depravity. At the age of 10, I was washed in the blood of the lamb accepting the forgiveness of God’s Son through the penal substation of the crucifixion, declared righteous through double imputation. Through the glory of his grace I was redeemed. I got saved from my sins. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and His sanctification process I am a new creation, born again. Life has been such a blessing since then.”

46. Important Points For Sharing a Testimony • Use everyday language. Only Christians speak Christianese! • Keep the story simple, no need to recount every word that was said or what you were wearing that day. • Make sure the gospel is explained clearly so that your listener can understand it and so that he/she knows it is an option for them too. Mark Dever describes what happened when people shared testimonies at their church: “We noticed, however, the first few times we did this, that people could recount their own conversions—and quite movingly—but without ever clearly sharing the gospel. While it was encouraging for the congregation gathered there, the non-Christians present (including friends and families of those to be baptized) weren’t hearing the gospel in the testimonies.”(Dever, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, 73)

47. Practice • Rehearse it • Adapt it • Memorize Scripture

48. As you go, proclaim the good news to everyone!