Portable Bible School Evangelism Lesson Twelve

Evangelism Lesson Twelve Why Not Evangelize? “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35). FOCUS: Explain the reasons why people do not get involved in evangelism. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED The fields are ready for harvesting. It looks like this will be our best crop ever. But, there is a problem, or two, or three. Where are the workers? What? Some are shy; others are full of fear. Some do not believe it is harvest time; others are ashamed of being caught farming. We have a handful that say they would love to help—tomorrow. Others claim it is not their responsibility or life calling. Still others are claiming they have no idea how to farm. What will we do? The harvest is ready—now. Discipleship Journal featured an article entitled “The Invisible Evangelist” by Rebecca Manley Pippert. She writes, “The heart of evangelism is sharing the story of Christ, the good news of how God took upon Himself the sin of the human race so that all who believe in Him might be saved (Acts 4:10-12). This message is the most liberating news to ever grace this planet. So why aren’t we shouting from the rooftops the glorious news?” In this lesson we will address some of the reasons people do not get involved in evangelism and what can be done to counteract it. 1. Fear. This is one of the biggest enemies of evangelism. This includes fear of failure, not knowing what to say, or of being rejected by others. Charles Stanley in Success God’s Way says, “Fear is the uneasy feeling that we are inadequate. It is an alarm that goes off when we feel threatened or suddenly feel incapable.” “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).  Fear of rejection.  Fear of embarrassment.  Fear of failure. God is not the author of this kind of fear. Nearly 1500 scriptures address the subject of fear. God often told His people, “Fear not!” (See Psalm 34:4.) “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Pippert suggests, “Our secret fear is that evangelism is really up to us. We wring our hands, close our eyes, and hope against hope that God backs us up as we dare to talk about our faith.” She claims that we have it backwards. “Evangelism is something God does; we are only instruments He uses ... God is always there first.” We merely sow the seed; God evangelizes. He prepares the heart for the seed to be planted. Evangelism is God working. After all, He is the Lord of the harvest. Someone defined evangelism as, “sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God.” (See Zechariah 4:6.) We need to have confidence in God, trusting He will destroy fear. It is better to fear God than man (2 Corinthians 5:11). “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:6). Pray for boldness (Acts 4:29-31; Proverbs 28:1). 2. Shyness (introverted) and inferiority complex. This relates back to fear and the possibility of rejection. 3. Unbelief. Do you really believe the gospel? It has already been said that the reality of our beliefs determines the urgency of our witness. We believe, and then we witness. 4. Ashamed of the gospel. We have the truth, and it needs to be taken to a lost and dying world. It is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). We have the whole gospel (Acts 2:38-39; Acts 4:12). We know the plan of salvation. The question is, “Will we let the world know?” 5. “It’s not my responsibility.” The saint will say, “Let the pastor do it.” The pastor says, “Let the evangelist do it!” This excuse is close to “that is not my ministry.” The great commission is a command to all Christians. Winning souls is part of the Christian life and a direct result of the baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8). 6. Lukewarm in relationship with God. Needs to be moved out of the comfort zone. 7. Out of touch with the heavenly Father’s heart. The prodigal’s elder brother should have been able to see how far he had drifted from his father’s concerns. He had all his father owned but did not want to share it with the prodigal son. Let us never drop into the sin of being like the elder brother. 8. Procrastination. “I’ll do it tomorrow.” The problem is tomorrow may be too late. 9. Disobedience. Failure to obey God’s Word and commands. 10. Laziness. Reaching the lost is work and requires discipline. 11. Sin and carnality in the life of the believer. Sin dulls our senses and desire for witnessing. 12. Cannot speak well (speech impediment or language barrier). That excuse has been used as far back as Moses. Each time you think, “I cannot,” remember Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). 13. Lack of burden, vision, compassion, or concern. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). “And what pity he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know what to do or where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36, TLB). Jesus was concerned for His world. We will evangelize when we truly care for the eternal destiny of others.  He was moved with compassion (meaning: “to suffer with”) when He saw the multitude (Matthew 9:36). Compassion is to relate to someone’s pain to the extent that you are willing to do something about it.  He had a burden (John 4:34-35).  He had a vision (Luke 19:10; Matthew 16:18).  He wept (John 11:35).  He died—accepted His responsibility. (Read 1 John 3:16.) 14. Lack of witnessing skill. “We don’t know how to evangelize. We were never taught.” Fear can be overcome through effective training. God has given us all we need to succeed. 15. Lack of biblical knowledge. Feeling that we do not know enough about the Bible to be an effective witness. 16. Never mobilized. People are waiting to be asked to be involved in evangelism. “Why have you been standing here doing nothing?” The answer the unemployed workers gave was, “Because no one has hired us.” (See Matthew 20:6-7.) No one had motivated or trained them. “Sometimes people are doing nothing because no one has asked them to do something.” W. E. McCumber 17. Wrong priorities. Inward focused instead of outward focused. 18. Racial prejudice (the feeling that nothing is good in others) can prevent evangelism (John 1:46). 19. “I’ll just mind my own business” attitude. Thinking that Christianity and religion is a personal choice. 20. Thinking that one’s lifestyle is enough witness. Winning souls involves more than a silent witness. 21. “I’m too busy!” Could even be busy doing things for the church but having little to do with evangelism. 22. A bad experience could keep a person from witnessing. 23. Respecting other people’s rights so decide not to witness to them. We do not want to offend anyone. We are deceived into the mindset that we should live in tolerance with others, and what they believe. It is useless to discuss “how to evangelize” until people develop the “want to” and become involved. Evangelism, on our part, begins with desire. Jonah is an example of someone that did not have the “want to.” God provided the fitting motivation that landed Jonah on the shores of his harvest field. Peter Lloyd Olivia is a beloved pastor from Mauritius. He preached a message on evangelism, taken from the Book of Jonah. He pointed out that the story of Jonah has all the ingredients of New Testament evangelism.  A vessel to preach: Jonah. The problem was that he was a reluctant vessel running from the will of God.  A people in need of salvation: People of Ninevah.  The great commission: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). (See also Jonah 3:2.)  The commission executed: People believed and repented (Jonah 3:5-9).  The results: God relented from the disaster; judgment was stayed (Jonah 3:10). Initially, Jonah may have suffered from fear, rebellion, racial prejudice, and feelings of insecurity. Jonah was finally ready to go to Ninevah when he prayed, “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). He realized that God would do the work in the hearts of men. George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization predicts that the world will never be reached with the gospel unless Christians show greater commitment to God. “Most human beings, including Christians, are more known for their unfaithfulness. In my view, less than 10 percent of all who profess the name of the Lord are faithful to His Word, especially in terms of prayer, discipline, evangelism, grace and love.” (Charisma Internet) Some churches are distracted from evangelism because of:  Church problems. Do not focus on problems. Focus on souls.  Lack of finances.  Lack of manpower.  Lack of proper priorities and/or burden. A genuine burden will cause us to step beyond these limitations. It is so easy to become distracted by minor issues and problems. We need to spend time on things that matter for eternity. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED? 1. What is the heart of evangelism? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What kinds of fear might one experience when wanting to get involved in evangelism? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Explain how evangelism is something that God does? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. How can we counteract fear in our lives? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Give ten reasons why people do not get involved in evangelism. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. How does Jonah have all the ingredients of New Testament evangelism? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Why are some churches distracted from evangelism? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 8. George Verwer claims that some will not get involved in evangelism until what happens? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. What is fear? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. How do we know that Jesus possessed a burden? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________