Martin Luther once said: "Every Christian must become Christ for his neighbor." Was he suggesting that every Christian should die on a cross to atone for his neighbor's sins?
No, what I was saying is that Christ is invisible to the unbelieving people around us. They do not see the cross, the empty tomb, or Jesus transfigured. They do not see him in his glory of the ascension, and they do not see him at the Father's right. The only thing they see is you and me; and when they see us, they must see Christ.
That image of how we relate to Christ-and how Christ relates to others through us-has always been meaningful to me. When I converted, it was through a man who spoke to me about Christ, and although I do not remember a word of what he said, I saw the power of Christ in him.
It tells the story of a poor puppy that had been hit by a car, and lay on the side of the road. A doctor, in passing, observed that the dog was still alive. He stopped his car and picked it up. When he got home, he realized that the dog had slight injuries and was a bit stunned, but had not suffered serious injuries.
He revived the dog, cleaned its wounds and took it in the arms to take it from the garage to the house. Suddenly, with a jump, the dog let go and ran away. "Ungrateful dog!" - thought the doctor, and then forgot the matter and entered the house. The next afternoon there was a noise at the door. When the doctor opened it, there was the puppy that had cured - along with another injured dog.
Actually, that little dog gives us a great example of what evangelism should be. We have come to believe that evangelism has to be something big and spectacular. Certainly God has used men like Billy Graham and Yiye Avila to preach the gospel to large crowds. In depth, however, evangelism is simply a matter of presenting people with the great Doctor who heals our soul.
Why are we so afraid of evangelism? Why is it so difficult for us to evangelize? Today we are going to know the story of one of the great evangelists of the first years of the Church. In his example we find several keys so that we can also evangelize naturally, with power and with joy.
First, we must clearly understand what evangelism is. The word gospel comes from the Greek, and means "good news". Evangelism, then, is to share good news. But we are not talking about any news. It is the special news of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
We were created by a loving God so that we could live as his children. He gave us everything we could need, but we turned our backs on him. We decided to believe the soft lies of a deceiver. We changed our divine home for a place of bad death. We rebelled against our loving Dad and we went after a charlatan liar.
But God did not stop loving us. So that we could return to Him, it was necessary that a ransom was paid for our disobedience, and that our abductor Satan was defeated. Jesus came to do this. He lived a perfect life. The death that we deserved died on the cross, thus paying our ransom. He defeated Satan, taking away the power he had over us.
Now, we just have to accept the offer of ransom, forgiveness and restoration. In Christ, God already paid the price of our ransom. But we have to accept it and get out of our place of abduction. We have to acknowledge our sin before God, turning our backs on it, and believing that Jesus has rescued us. If we trust wholeheartedly in what He did for us, we are free. We are forgiven, and God receives us as his children. This is the gospel message.
One of the great evangelizers of the Church in its early years was a man named Philip. On one occasion, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and ordered him to travel along a certain path. While he was walking, he met an Ethiopian government official. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship God, and now he was returning to his country.
It is clear that this man was looking for God, because he had gone to the temple in Jerusalem. We are surrounded by people who are searching for God, although they may not recognize it. God can open our eyes for us to recognize them, as he did with Philip.
The Holy Spirit told Philip to approach the car where the official was traveling, and he heard the man read aloud from a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Felipe asked him if he understood what he was reading, and he answered that no, there was no one to explain it to him. Then Felipe, invited by the official, got into his car and sat with him.
It turns out that he was reading Isaiah 53, the great prophetic passage of Jesus' sufferings. Felipe took the opportunity to speak to him, starting from that same passage of Scripture, about Jesus. They had not advanced much when the Ethiopian fell under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and became converted. He pointed to a place next to the road where there was water, and said: "What prevents me from being baptized?"
They got out of the car, and Felipe baptized him. Upon leaving the water, the Holy Spirit took Philip to another place, while the official continued his way gladly. Let's read this story in Acts 8: 26-40:
God has recorded this story in His Word as an example to us. Let us think, then, of some things that we can learn and put into practice in our own lives.
The first thing we discover here is that evangelism is a supernatural activity. Throughout this story we see glimpses of the supernatural. An angel appears to Philip; the Spirit speaks to you on the way; At the end of the story, the same Holy Spirit takes Philip to another place. In everything that happens, the fingerprints of God are seen.
One of the reasons why we are so afraid of evangelizing is that we think we have to do everything ourselves. We turn evangelism into a human activity. Then we thought: "I am not able to convince that person! I do not have all the answers to your questions! I do not know what to say!" We feel inadequate and inadequate, and then we remain silent.
We have to understand that God is with us to guide us when we evangelize. He is working at all times - before any evangelistic meeting, during the conversation and even after we finish. We are not alone in this. God is working. Jesus said, before leaving: "But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and you will be my witnesses ..." (Acts 1: 8). The Holy Spirit of God is present in every believer to guide us to evangelize.
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Now, does this mean that we are going to receive instructions from angels before evangelizing someone, or that we will miraculously disappear after the encounter? Well, let's not rule out the possibility; God works miracles today as well. But many times, his work is less obvious. He can act by inducing us to speak with a certain person. It can bring to our memory the Bible verse or story we need at the right time. He also works in the heart of the person with whom we speak, in ways that we can not see.
Do not be afraid to talk with others about Christ. First, tell him in prayer that you are willing to take advantage of the opportunities He gives you. Second, when you have the opportunity in a conversation to talk about Christ, ask the Holy Spirit to help you in that moment. Third, trust that God is working in the heart of the person with whom you are speaking.
We may not see that the person becomes that moment. But we can trust God's promise, that his Word never becomes empty. He will use the seed of truth that we sow for good.
When I was looking for the salon to make the event of Steemchurch Venezuela, the girl who attended me very kindly smiled, however at that moment I felt in my heart the sadness that she had, I closed my eyes and said sir you want to tell me: The only thing that came out of me was to ask the girl: How are you with God? she answered, more or less, then God spoke to my mind and heart and I began to speak that woman, she began to cry, and the man told me just to hug her and kiss her, that's all he needs. It was indescribable that moment of how God uses us to bring those good things of salvation.
Returning to the main theme, another thing that we notice in this story is that the gospel crosses barriers. Philip and the Ethiopian were from different nations, from different cultures and even different colors. Philip was Jewish, while the Ethiopian was African. The Holy Spirit moved Philip to see beyond any human barrier and recognize that the Ethiopian was also a human being, loved by God, who needed the gospel.
It may be that God calls you to share his Word with people who do not look like you. If He moves you in that direction, do not resist his voice. Do not miss the opportunity to share with someone, even if their skin, their culture or their language is different from yours.
The third thing we discovered in this story is that evangelism brings joy and rejoicing. We read in verse 39 that the eunuch joyfully followed his path. He was very happy to have known the truth, for having received salvation. God does not tell us how Philip felt, but I am sure that he also shared the Ethiopian's joy.
If you have shared the gospel with someone, you have experienced what I have also felt many times: the joy of being used by God. It is a joy that can not be explained. Christ said that there is rejoicing in heaven for a sinner who repents. That party in heaven reaches the heart of the person God has used to share his message as well. Brother, do not miss that joy!
During this year we have some evangelism projects that we will be presenting to you. But we will not be very powerful in evangelism if we wait for some special project to evangelize.
Let's begin today to actively seek those opportunities that God gives us to share his message of salvation. Let's trust in the power of the Holy Spirit who is with us. Only in this way can we feel the great joy that only those who evangelize know.
The gospel is the power of God, it is good news, the gospel is to reach your neighbor, those in need of that word of salvation, to speak to him the wonders that our Lord Jesus Christ does when we accept him from the heart, walk by his hand and practice his word.
The Gospel is the universal message of salvation for every soul of every nation, age and religion. The Golden Rule is to love our neighbor as ourselves, as did the good Samaritan who helped the one who was lying on the road.
What a wonderful experience it feels to receive the power of God friend @ darlenys01 thank you for sharing and blessings
Christ made the most beautiful sacrifice for us and shed his precious blood for love of us and that better proof that that to believe in the son of God, and your experience in receiving Christ in your friendly heart @ darlenys01 is something that has no words for describe what you feel you just have to experience it like the story of the puppy
Hello friend @ darlenys01 what a beautiful feeling it feels when we receive Christ in our heart and the story that you told about the cachoro is a divine experience of the Heavenly Father to see how the animals also feel
Words with great wisdom Apostle @darlenys01 as someone spoke to us and we were convinced of sin, justice and judgment through the Holy Spirit, there are many people waiting for that message of good news, evangelism is a beautiful task, not everyone will believe, but God he is the one in charge, our job is to obey God when he sends us to bring the good news of salvation, there are people needing the love that God has not given. God bless you!
Amen dear friend @ darlenys01 that you felt that only God does, and Christ died for love of us
Perhaps many will refute our faith, but no one can refute the testimony of someone who has experienced a miracle with Jesus. This gospel that we preach is not only to save your soul, but to heal your body; and if you are bound by some disease or any kind of problems, Jesus will set you free!
Reaching the world with the supernatural is a sure evidence that Jesus is alive .
I admire your wisdom blessings Apostol