Streams of Living Water

“Make every home a mission station” – “Make every home a station for advancing the good news of Jesus.” Last week, we looked at the Biblical and Historical justification for making such claims and we saw that God commands and resources us for evangelism from the home. But this week, I want to move on and take up more practical issues of the how-to, although as you will discover, I’m always going to try and relate your experience to the theology of the Bible. And so I want no-one to be able to legitimately say – I don’t agree with it, or I can’t do it, or I don’t know how to do it.

Evangelising from the home, using such materials as Christianity Explored, requires two things – two things without which you might as well not bother starting: first, a passion for God and secondly, a passion for people:
[A] A Passion for God
What we are emphasising in this section is that successful evangelism isn’t the same as successful salesmanship. At the end of the day, evangelism isn’t merely a human activity – but a divine activity, and as such, the way we ‘do’ evangelism must reflect God’s priorities. Evangelism has more to do with our relationship to God than it does our relationship with other people. Unless we have our relationship with God right, our evangelism will go nowhere.
Therefore, as we gear up, as a congregation and as individuals, to evangelise using Christianity Explored, and we reflect upon our need for a passion for God, we see three things which are absolutely vital and without which, we will see nothing:
1. The Sovereignty of God – in 2 Corinthians 4:1-7, the greatest evangelist of the early Church, Paul, gives us his view of the task of evangelism. In this most famous and poignant of passages, he basically teaches us three things:
a. The Blindness of Men (vs. 4) – in essence, what you are trying to achieve in evangelism is an impossible task – you are trying to make a blind man see – you are trying to do a miracle. It is a mistake to believe that everyone comes into a discussion about God, and particularly about Jesus Christ, neutral – they don’t. They come with their own agendas and with their minds closed against the glory of the Gospel. Their mind are closed and veiled by the God of this age – Satan. Therefore, to make them see, you have to defeat Satan and you have to remove the curtain from the minds of unbelievers so that they can see and understand your message.
b. The Ability of God (vs. 6) – given the impossible hurdle which we must overcome in our evangelism, namely the hardness of the hearts of our listeners, is there any hope or any point in evangelising? Yes, and once again yes! However high the hurdles, God can jump higher still – however dark the dungeon, the light of God’s revelation can flame the darkness with light. The key to conversion does not lie in the power or ability of a human being, but in the ability and authority of God. He it is who shines light into the hearts of unbelievers so that they may know Christ and His glory. His enabling power is greater than the disabling power of the devil.
c. The Responsibility of God (vs. 7) – no natural gifting, or effusive personality trait, is sufficient to remove the curtain from the minds of unbelievers. Only God can do that. As Paul says, “we have this treasures in jars of clay” – that’s all we are – jars of clay. Therefore, having done our all, knowing that our best isn’t sufficient to lower the curtain from the minds of our hearers, if they do respond and become Christians, that is God’s doing – He has shone a light into their hearts to bring them to that point. However, if they do not respond and become Christians, that is God’s doing also, not yours – He has chosen not to shine a light into their hearts. The point is that the results of your evangelistic efforts aren’t your responsibility – they’re God’s.
The obstacles to belief are monumental – far too great for us to overcome, but the ability of God is far beyond ours, and nothing is too hard for Him. Trust therefore, that He will work and give Him the glory for His sovereign power and love.
2. The Word of God – it may seem counter-intuitive, but the path to true effectiveness in evangelism is to be passionate about the Word of God. After all, is it possible to be passionate about God if we aren’t passionate about what He says? Having said all we have said about the sovereignty of God, are we entitled to sit back and do nothing – to let go and let God? After all, if it’s God who will do the converting, what’s the point in us trying? What does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 4? He points out in vs. 4, 6 and 7, the obstacles to belief, the great ability of God and the responsibility of God, but in vs. 1-2 and vs. 5 he talks of his own responsibility. He talks in vs. 5 of preaching, but in vs. 2 he talks about how he goes about dealing with God’s Word – he writes, “we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
In other words, his aim in all evangelism is to avoid distorting the Word of God, and to set forth the truth plainly. He sees that as his responsibility. God will use that truth to convert – that’s not Paul’s responsibility – Paul’s responsibility is to handle the Word of God correctly so as to present the truth clearly to unbelievers. In the hands of Almighty God, the Bible is the most powerful force in the universe – able to smash the hardest of obstacles and to open the blindest eyes.
Incidentally, you might then wonder why it is necessary to follow an evangelistic course like Christianity Explored. Well, for a start, the Bible itself authorises the use of an evangelistic course. It is thought that the Gospel of Mark was written as a type of 1^st Century Christianity Explored – witness all the hanging questions in the book – “who can forgive sins but God alone? Who is this man that even the wind and the waves obey Him?” and so on. These questions are there to evoke a response from the reader. But secondly, and more pointedly, Christianity Explored is simply an evangelistic Bible study taken from the Gospel of Mark. Christianity Explored allows the Word to speak plainly unleashing the power of God through the text.
3. The Grace of God – if God alone is able to and responsible for the opening of blind eyes, but we are called to set forth the truth plainly to unbelieving ears, how do we find the strength necessary for such a task. The answer is, of course, through prayer. We must be committed to pray, pray and pray more, for through persistent and consistent prayer, God will pour down His promised blessing. What, or more properly, who, should we pray for?
a. For Leaders – we pray for those who will lead the group – for ourselves and for those others who will help leading the discussion. In Ephesians 6:19 Paul asks the Christians to “pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.” If Paul asked others to pray that for him, I’m sure he was praying it for himself also. Again in Colossians 4:3, 4 Paul says, “pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” We need to pray for ourselves and for other discussion leaders that first, opportunities will be given to us; secondly, that we may declare the Gospel fearlessly, and thirdly, that we may declare it plainly.
b. For Participants – when the apostle Paul reached Philippi, he was taken aback by the simultaneous opposition and receptivity to the Gospel. The crowds hated him and tried to kill him. But there were some who responded in faith and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, Lydia in Acts 16:14 whose heart God opened; the servant Girl possessed of an evil spirit in Acts 16:18, whom God liberated from her spiritual bondage; the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16:30 whom God saved. We pray for similar responses among those who come to our home evangelism groups. We pray of course, that there would be participants in the first place; but once there are, we pray for them individually that God would open their eyes, liberate them from sinful bondage, and save them. We pray and through prayer God will rescue them. After all, I don’t think I am alone in attributing my conversion to the prayers of godly people for me – people like my mother, my Sunday School Teachers, my minister etc.
In fact, in the issue of prayer, why not gather a few friends together and enlist their help in praying for your Christianity Explored Group!
Be passionate about God – about living in His sovereignty; about studying and relating His Word; and about receiving His grace through prayer.
[B] A Passion for People
If the first ingredient in evangelism is a passion for God, then the second ingredient is a passion for people – for real people, not just for people as you would have them be, or as they are in the pages of romantic works of mission history. Having a passion for people means getting your hands dirty in the nitty-gritty in’s and out’s of human life – it means opening yourself up and making yourself vulnerable – it introduces you to a life of double the pain, but also double the joy. Getting involved in the nitty-gritty practicalities is going to mean 6 things in the context of running a Christianity Explored evangelism group:
1. Invitation – in John 4:29 the woman whom Jesus met at the well said to her fellow townspeople, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” The constant invitation is sounded out – ‘come’. Do not wait for people to volunteer to come to your Christianity Explored group – go, find them, and invite them to come. Now this is going to be a painful business because you will get many disappointments along the way – people who say they will come and don’t; people who will give you a flat denial – people who may even cut their friendship with you. But the question is: are you willing to undergo the same rejection as your Lord who, in John 6, lost many friends and followers because He started getting real with them and calling them to real commitment? Invite them and don’t wait for them to volunteer. Remember also the order in which we should prioritise our invitations: family then friends then neighbours then workmates then strangers. Invite them – not all will come, but some will and out of them, God will work and bring some of them to faith in Him.
2. Hospitality – Last week we looked at the evangelistic example of Levi in Matthew 9:9-10, where we read, “while Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ came and ate with him and his disciples.” You will notice two aspects of the hospitality of Matthew: first, food. Matthew laid on a huge meal so that they could all eat together, and over a meal meet Jesus. Eating together is still a crucial way of breaking down barriers and also provides a good hook on which to hang an invitation. Eating a meal together is a vital part of any Christianity Explored course – it doesn’t have to be a banquet, just a meal. Secondly, the hospitality of Matthew included friendship. Matthew invited his workmates and fellow-sinners to his house to meet with Jesus. These were his friends and colleagues. If we are to reach people with the gospel, we need to earn the right to speak the truth with them – there is a modern phrase which says, “people need to know how much you care before they care how much you know”. We need therefore to make our homes places of welcome, friendship and hospitality. It’s amazing how much even a cup of cold water can achieve!
3. Leadership – one person cannot run a Christianity Explored group – it takes a team. However, one person should be responsible for co-ordinating the group – identifying tasks which need done – like food and hospitality; discussion and technical things like a working video. You may not feel confident enough to discuss and reason with a non-Christian, but surely you can make a meal and serve it out; surely also you can tell your testimony. The leadership team and its dynamic are vital. If you are then co-ordinating a Christianity Explored Group, you need to carefully and prayerfully choose a leadership group which will work well together. In Acts 15:36-41 you have the story of Paul and Barnabas, and how their joint missionary effort came to an end when they argued about another one of their leaders – Mark. A poor leadership dynamic led to pain, disagreement and the hampering of the mission. By contrast, in Philippians 2:25-30 you have Paul’s commendation of Epaphroditus, and how they have been working together for the good of the gospel. A good leadership team – a team which works well together and prays well together – will reinforce the power of the Gospel message.
4. Preparation – in 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul writes, “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” The workman of the word prepares carefully – for example the preacher prepares what he is going to say very carefully indeed, so that he knows his subject just about as well as he can. Similarly, in a Bible study setting, the overall leader and the discussion leaders need to have studied the passage and gone through the questions and answers beforehand. They do this so they can get a really good feel of the passage itself, the kind of questions they might be asked and the kind of answers they might give. Poor preparation leads to poor performance; the best Bible studies and evangelistic groups are those where there has been good preparation beforehand. One of the reasons why, I think, we don’t get as much out of our home Bible studies as we could is that we aren’t preparing them beforehand. This mustn’t happen with Christianity Explored!
5. Sacrifice – in 2 Timothy 2:4 Paul writes of the Christian evangelist, “no-one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.” It’s all a question of priorities. If you are going to do Christianity Explored or some other evangelistic home Bible study, you need to be committed to making the sacrifices necessary for it to go ahead. It is a sacrifice – a sacrifice of your time, your energy and your privacy. But the soldier doesn’t try to please himself or the civilian, but his commanding officer. We are Christian soldiers working with our eyes on God – not ourselves. If we aren’t willing to sacrifice for the God who sacrificed everything for us, then what does that say about our relationship to God? With Christians who aren’t willing to sacrifice, our Church will not grow. But more importantly, unless we are willing to be sacrificed, our family, friends, neighbours, workmates and strangers will go down to hell without even a whimper from us. We will be asleep in the light. There will be a time to rest, but now is not it.
6. Integration – the end point, the result you are praying for and working towards is not merely that people would be informed about the contents of Mark’s Gospel, nor even that they would respond positively to the Gospel, but that they would become disciples of Jesus Christ and members of His Church. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus enumerates the end point of all Gospel mission – ‘go, make disciples, teach and baptise.’ The end point is discipleship and baptism – that those who have come to your course would become long-term disciples and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and having God as their father, would have the Church as their mother. A Christian alone is easy pickings for the devil, whereas a Christian in loving community and under the sound of the preaching of God’s Word will grow and mature in their faith, and themselves become evangelists.
There is the challenge. Who is willing to pick up the gauntlet – have a passion for God and a passion for souls? Who is willing to face personal rejection just as long as the Gospel goes forth and one soul is saved? Who is willing to open up their home and give up one evening of their week for 10 weeks so that someone may hear the Gospel? Who is willing to get their hands dirty so that the blood of Jesus may wash them clean?