Evangelism? What Stops You!

Obeying Evangelism? Your Sins Are Preventing It!  3-2012 Kelly Durant

Matt 13: 3-12

3And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.12For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

    How many of you have had the experience of having a new baby? Maybe, if not yours, you have been near someone who has had one.

It is a happiness like no other, right! Your energies are all focused on every little smile, every little need, and every move they make!  They are your life!

   When you tell others about Jesus and someone converts it is like having a new baby in your responsibility! You feel an ecstasy, a high, like you are on drugs for the joy of seeing a person convert to have Jesus as their savior knowing they will now have a new start in life, have eternal life! And over time, the hope is they too will give birth even more souls for God’s kingdom as well!

   Evangelizing can be one of the most rewarding things you can do in this life because God makes you feel the energy and joy of His Holy Spirit working in you as you guide this new soul into the new world of the wisdom & light of the Word!

So why do some Christians obey this command to evangelize (it is not an option) and others just ignore it?

  Evangelism is a dangerous fight!  Jesus came to usurp Satan’s systems to establish the Kingdom of God! He taught us how to copy Him and to liberate and save with the great commission, Mark16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

This command was in front of everyone before He ascends into heaven, it was for all followers (me & you), not just the disciples! To not share eternal salvation is the epitome of selfishness!

  There are many reasons and excuses people give as to why they believe they should not have to do this commandment and evangelize. People think, after all, that is what the preacher or the church leader is for, to evangelize, right? But me, I am not qualified! That excuse with Jesus will not work! There are many reasons people give as excuses. To start with, at least the sewer was out doing his job.   

In the parable of the sewer, recall how some seed fell on the ground and were eaten by the birds, others on stony ground, some amongst thorns, but some gave good fruit. This implies a lot of sewing for just a meniscal results! That’s why people get discouraged from evangelizing! But worse, here is what is preventing.

Pride: It keeps you from telling others about Jesus! People feel embarrassed that their friends will make fun of them if they share the gospel. So how do you & I take the conviction to overcome pride?… Mark 8:38

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Imagine there are people here amongst us, or who were here, that when they face Jesus in the end, He will be ashamed of them. How horrible face the ruler of the universe, Jesus, and to have been ashamed of Him!

In some cultures, like with the Asians, being shamed by the authority is so terrible you are practically expected to kill yourself! You are worthless to them and everyone around you sees it and you are reduced to nothing.  Eternal shame would be horrible! Ask the Lord, is pride preventing me from speaking up about you, Lord causing me to condemn my soul for a lack of obedience?

Laziness: How embarrassing to not obey! This is a terrible sin of allowing carnality to dominate the spirit. Consider how God will forgive you for not being willing to go but you do, but He won’t forgive you for not going at all!  Matt 21: 28But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Imagine, God is more ready to accept into heaven the people who were really bad like drunks and prostitutes that repented and started telling their testimony about how Jesus changed them than He is the people who, like the Pharisees, went to church and appeared good, but they did not obey! You can’t think, oh I will go evangelize one day; but the harvest is today, not tomorrow! Ask yourself, am I lazy to proclaim Jesus to others around me allow others to remain lost?

Discouragement: Some conclude, with little results, why evangelize!

Let’s go back to the example of the baby that grows up?  What happens in real life with children? They grow up and some make you proud while others who have amazing potential disappoint you! Some children never care for their own parents!

Each of us react differently to those who fail us and God, some of us get bitter quicker than others and conclude that people are just not worth my time and energy since they don’t always turn out like they should. Sadly some people conclude that those under their care are not worth the time and effort for the investment! It is true, dealing with people has both its rewards and frustrations!

Peter got discouraged how much more us then? But Jesus encouraged always! Jn 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

We must focusing on the one seed that took root and know it is worth every minute of it. I keep investing! Yet if you focus on the failures, on the lost seed, and think, I wasted so much time on this and look how unthankful, disobedient, unloving and back-stabbing this investment was, you will burn out! Many pastors burn out and quit! We are all always tempted to just want to give it up!

Ask you self, am I self-focused or too discouraged to invest in others?  Do I in error expect everything to always turn out good? Am I willing to keep on going with just a few  good ones and let God sort out the rest? One in four seeds?!

   When we as Christians practice evangelism, it is very real like the sewer.  In Matt 13:3-8   there are 4 seeds and only one turned out to be the amazing one in four to give fruit! What we could conclude is, this is a crazy investment! I get little reward back for all the effort, I get waste and unthankfulness! Only 25% good if that much! But the rewards are in heaven!

   You have to pray against your human nature to have a divine driven persistence, like the love of a parent who loves every child, even his wayward son, and be inspired & convicted by the love of Jesus to keep on telling others about Jesus! Otherwise, you will fail Jesus in this life!

  It cost Jesus his life to bring salvation to you, and it should cost you something to bring salvation to others! It will cost you your time, prayers, emotions, and some material goods, but you are investing in eternity, a saved soul that will live forever!

   I have seen people throughout the years have 2 or 3 bad experiences from their evangelism, some resistance, ridicule, and mockery from their families or friends, and they just give up to never evangelize again to anyone!

  Let me tell you my experience. When I was 21 and I told all my family I was going to evangelize and be a missionary, only a few understood and most stopped talking to me!  Others did not want to come to Jesus and repent as I had.

   Talking about Jesus makes many people uncomfortable because His love & light remind them of their sins and dirtiness! I basically lost most all of my friends & family but did I care? Yes, it did hurt but I focused on the Word and on Jesus mission in my life. God gave me strength and a new family with new brothers in Christ!

Matthew 19:29

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

  When I lost my old friends, that really weren’t worth it anyway, I gained new Christian brothers to support me. I knew they had a real love for God and a love for me and ever since then I have always considered all true Christians to be my true family. And I have doubts about some of my flesh family, but it is my family in Jesus that will last forever with me in heaven! I still have friends in Jesus from 35 years ago!

    

   In this promise in Matt 19:29, I must admit it really is true! I have stayed in the homes of hundreds of people I had just met in my lifetime and I have had people live in my home as well. I had grown so close to some that I considered them to be as a real brother or sister to me.

Imagine, my family, and yours includes millions of people and we only get to know a few hundred in my lifetime!

   I dream of heaven where I will be able to sit down and hear all the stories of who first told them about Jesus and hear of all acts of love done by all my brothers and sisters throughout time! Imagine the great defenders of the faith, Joan of Arc, or Martin Luther, all of the past great ones will share their stories with me and you, and with the other millions in heaven for eternity!

But what stories of sharing your faith and converted souls will you have to tell?

   So sharing Jesus with others is an activity that causes us to experience new life, but it is also an activity in which we will experience frustration and futileness. You have to be tough and with Jesus in you, you are more tough than any demon, and we overcome any evil we encounter! Especially the demons of discouragement, pride, laziness, and selfishness.

  Don’t lose sight of the last line of verse 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. In other words, those that have won others to Jesus will enjoy the fruits of everyone’s labors, but those who did little to nothing to sew the seeds will get even the little bit they had taken away!

How would you prefer to have it? Pray to start sewing the seeds of Jesus today!