Play

Evangelism Workshop 1.

Steven Findley
07/09/25 - Wednesday PM Bible Study

So tonight we're going to be starting a evangelism workshop.
This is a, we did this, worked on this project when I first got here and we went
through several groups of people who have taken this course.
So just raise your hand.
Have you been through the evangelism workshop?
All right, we got about a third of everyone here has done it.
So good.
So this is a good reminder.
I've been finding it a good reminder for me, but also if you haven't done it,
this is a good class because what really what it's about is, is about saving lost souls.
That's really going to be our focus in this and, and maybe bringing it down to actionable
things, not just theory, because there's a lot of theory we could go through on it, on
an evangelism.
And there's a lot of intimidation, I think, that comes along with it like, okay, we're
going to do evangelism.
Well, a lot of people kind of feel like they're, they're not the right person to be doing
evangelism.
So, and also, I guess really, what is evangelism, right?
So we'll define that.
And so in this class tonight, what I want to do is really, I want to define evangelism.
I want us to wrap our minds around, okay, what does it mean for me to do evangelism and
what is the definition of it?
So that's where I want it.
I want to begin.
But also, I want to just spend some time thinking about the importance of that work, not just
of the church, because there's a saying, if it's everybody's job, then it's nobody's job.
And so if you say the work of the church is to do evangelism, well, that's everybody's
job and what that means.
Nobody's job.
And so we need to change our mindset on that, is it's not the work of the church.
It is the work of disciples of Christ.
And if you're a disciple of Christ, then evangelism is something you need to be involved.
And there's a variety of ways.
And that's one of the things I feel like has been helpful in this class.
I know Larry and Becky have been through it, because I've seen them like making changes,
I think, in response to what they learned.
I mean, to me, I'm pointing you guys out, but I've noticed it, and I've noticed them
put in the work and doing the things that at least in part came from that.
And it's been an encouragement to me.
So I want to begin by reading you a story.
And as you listen, I want us to talk about, what's the story about?
So this is called, I actually stole it from Brad Hunt Drive.
I'm incorporating some material from him called, I think it's called evangelism 101 or something
like that.
It's a study that he, when I was reading through it, it said that they would teach all
new Christians this particular study.
So then they were prepared to do some event, to do outreach and things.
So here's the parable, a parable of the lighthouse.
On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little
life-saving station.
The building was just a hut.
There was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea.
And with no thought for themselves, they went out day and night tirelessly searching for
the lost.
Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so it became famous.
Some of those who were saved, some of those who were saved, and various others in the
surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and
money and effort for the support of its work.
New boats were bought, and the new crews were trained.
The little life-saving station grew.
Some of the new members of the life-saving station weren't happy that the building was
so crude and poorly equipped.
They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge for those
who were saved from the sea.
They replaced the emergency cops with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building.
Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they
redecorated it beautifully and furnished it as a sort of club.
Less of the members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they
hired a life-butt boat crew to do the work.
The mission of life-saving was still given lip service that most were too busy or lacked
the necessary commitment to take part in life-saving activities personally.
About this time, a large ship was wrecked on the coast, and the hired crews brought
in the boatloads, brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-round people.
They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin and spoke a strange language.
And the beautiful new club was considerably messed up.
So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside of the club
where victims of the shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership.
Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant
and a hindrance to the normal pattern of the club.
But some members insisted on that life-saving was their primary purpose, and pointed out
that there were still, that they were still called, the life-saving station.
But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the life of all
various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own
life-saving station down the coast, and they did.
As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the
old.
They evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was founded.
If you visit the sea coast today, you'll find a number of exclusive clubs along that
shore.
Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but now most of the people drown.
What do you think about that story?
They're still shipwrecks, but most of the people drown.
Lost side of the main mission.
Yeah.
That's right.
They lost their mission, right?
What's the purpose of a life-saving station?
Save lives.
Save lives.
But what happened to it?
Why did it happen?
That shipwreck has changed priorities, and these people who have applied themselves to
lead their leaders, so that their priorities can be changed.
Yeah.
So the priorities change from being life-saving to being a comfortable place to hang out.
A club.
A club.
Yeah.
Right?
It's true to us that they lost their personal.
Yeah.
So they lost their first love.
That's a good way to frame that.
Bern.
Back of compassion.
Back of compassion.
Yeah.
That's similar to what Mike said, but maybe a little more colorful, where the concern for
those shipwrecks and the people drowning in the shipwrecks was replaced or displaced
by their hobby of being part of this club.
Right?
Anything, any other thoughts on that?
I think people would just like to be comfortable with whatever they're in.
If you're going to be at the side of a crash, you better get out of your focus on that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so that's an aspect of like if you're trying to save a drowning person and they don't
want to get in the boat, then yeah, that's not your fault that they don't want to be saved.
Right?
I think what you said, and what Mike said is that loss of love, loss of compassion, their
mission changed.
And really, I think that clearly the story is to illustrate what can happen in the church,
where it starts out as a place where people are being saved.
And it ends up as a place where people go to get their needs met.
They're really there, not their needs met.
To go get their preferences met maybe is a good word of saying it.
And so then you have the group that are still committed, they split off.
Now this coast is full of lifesaving stations, but no one's being saved anymore because
over and over and over, we forgot about the mission.
But I think that's something we can keep in mind as far as our own personal lives as
we serve the Lord.
How often do we drift off mission?
As Christians?
Like is that a possibility?
Yeah, is there a parable that talks about something like that that Jesus told?
Yeah, at least one.
Yeah, I'm thinking of one where this piece of wheat grows up and there's all these
thorns and fizzles choking it out and it's not burying any fruit.
Is that is a problem that we get into?
And so, you know, as part of this is we just want to reset our center, okay?
What is my job as a Christian?
Why did Jesus make me a Christian?
Like what is the purpose?
We just read a scripture in Revelation 22 verse 17, says the Spirit and the bride say
come and let those who hear say come and let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who
wishes the water of life without take the water of life without cost.
So the Spirit is the Holy Spirit, what's the bride?
The church, the kingdom of heaven and they say come, there's an invitation in that.
And so then you hear that invitation and you accept it.
What are you supposed to do?
Yeah, let the one who hears say come, yeah.
And so as you think about what, when it says let the one who hears, is that permission
or is that requirement?
Yeah, it's a, it's a requirement, like it's like this is what if you hear it and you come,
you have responsibility to say come.
And so when we're talking about evangelism that's what we're saying, right, we're saying
come.
And so we need to be bringing people looking at least being alert to and watching for people
who need to know the Lord and they're all over the place.
And one of the things that's really helpful in this area is there's a lot of people who
really want the Lord and they're not finding him.
So we have a, like you know, my first slide is the ripe wheat field, Jesus says, lift your
eyes.
The fields are white for harvest, but we need workers.
And really quarter lane is a place where I think the fields are white for harvest, but
we need workers.
And but it's easy to get distracted and to get sidetracked and to get our priorities out
of order.
And then also, so there's that aspect, but it's also easy to, it's easy to, I'm trying
to think of the right term.
It's easy to make, find reasons why I'm not the one.
And so we want to spend a little bit of time dispelling that concept.
So what is evangelism, like how would you define evangelism?
Oh, also just before I'm going to let you think about it, but I'm also going to say this
is a class that's interactive.
So last time we were doing a small groups of people because there's a lot of conversation
class requires, so in future classes, plan on sitting a little closer so we can interact
a little bit more.
So just so you know, like I might be asking you to do that, but if you have volunteer,
I won't complain about that.
But this is, this class is more of an interactive class because I don't want to just, here's
what I think you should know, and then that's not what you should know because you want
to know something else and then not get that.
I want this class to be a little bit more interactive and a little bit more helpful in
that front.
So what is evangelism, like in your mind or in your definition, what would you, how would
you define evangelism?
Matt?
Showing one of the things that you can write for God by the things that you say and things
that you do and helping others to teach you the word and the manner that you do.
Okay, so in a broad sense, then it's, now is that just being a disciple or is that evangelism?
Well, that's true, no, that's point is a good point.
I'm just asking a follow-up question.
Is there a distinction between evangelism and being a disciple or are they synonymous terms?
Larry?
I think there is a difference.
I think you could potentially look like a disciple and not be evangelists.
I don't know that that would be scriptural, but I think that, you know, because we have
to get out of our comfort zone, I think more to evangelize.
Yeah, I would say there's a distinction there because the scripture uses two different
terms and talks about two different things.
Now I would say like what Matt is saying is correct, right?
There's a saying, you teach a better sermon with your life than with your words.
And I think that's what Matt is saying is a way of framing evangelism is when you live
right, when you do certain things, when you represent Jesus, that is going to have an evangelistic
effect.
But evangelism is a thing, it's really a clearly defined act, and that's what we need
to get to, so thank you.
Sharing the good news.
Sharing the good news.
Yeah.
I have found that sometimes you have to really ask people, you know, looking, doing the right
things they see, but sometimes you have to let them know why you're doing it and you
share that part, so they're defined.
Okay.
So sharing the good news.
Yeah, that's a good answer.
Mike?
I think the man's listen to the difference, the man's listen to your sharing, the good news,
the one that's terrible, do you think about that versus the satisfaction that you're continuing
to pay those views?
Yeah.
And the discipleship maybe is a little more inward focus where you're following Jesus,
like you're instructing yourself where evangelism is and instructing others, like, so sharing
Jesus.
So there's a distinction.
I think those lines will blur, I think that's a, that's a, if you're a good disciple,
evangelism will happen in your life, and so I think that's a good point.
Fern?
Who said that?
I think it was Paul.
Yeah, he did.
Oh yeah, he did.
Did he say it to the Galatians where your faith is a letter from Christ, yeah.
In the military, we had a tournament, I was going to give it to you.
You talk to talk, can you walk to walk?
And I say, a lot of people, they talk to talk, they don't talk to walk.
You know what I mean by that, right?
Yeah, certainly.
And lip service intended the morning of Sunday.
Yeah, it can be, not always, but I mean that we can get that way.
Yeah.
So I think that's what that, that lighthouse story was all about, Mike.
I don't know if I was, if you're not evangelizing, I don't see the truth of Sunday because I mean,
it's a romantic thing to celebrate, but it's a command of angelic.
So you shouldn't be looking, act to be looking for opportunities to share God's word to people that need it.
And if you're not doing that, and you've been a Christian for 30 years,
I don't really want to be standing in your sandals or say, you've had a little 14 in the explain.
What do you mean to do it?
Yeah, because, but it's, that's, yeah, you're right.
It's part of being a disciple is going to include sharing your faith and doing those things.
So Larry.
Is, I'm trying to remember, is the word evangelist, the word that's, like,
comes from the word hero, the hero of the word.
Is that a message?
No, you're, you're right on.
Yeah.
That's the guy that stands up and says, you know, here you, here you have, you heard about Jesus and,
and that's what makes us uncomfortable.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, and yes, let's get to that, I think, is you look at the word evangelist because a lot of times what people say evangelism is it's,
okay, it's, you got to, you got to counter bad theology.
You have to debunk certain false beliefs.
You have to be able to teach a conversion study and then a follow-up study and all the, like, necessary things.
Like, all that is evangelism.
But really, that, those are, that is not evangelism.
It really comes down to a lot narrower thing because, why do people not do it?
Why don't you feel ready?
I don't know what to do.
I don't know how.
There's all these reasons why we'll, we'll talk about that in a minute.
But I want to just look here.
If we just draw a line right here and right here, what do we have?
And what's an angel?
Messenger.
Messenger, right?
So evangelism at its core is to just share a message.
Okay, what message?
Jesus.
Okay, Jesus, the gospel, both good answers.
Okay, so gospel.
What does gospel mean?
Good news.
Good news.
Okay, so you can go through and if we look at Luke 1 verse 19.
So this will be our guessing game here.
In Luke 1 verse 19.
What word?
So the Greek word is you, now I can't remember it.
It's basically evangelism is a, is a transliteration.
It's, it's, it's you on go, you on go leads though or something like that.
But then Gabriel answered and said to him,
I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.
What is the word evangelism in this text?
Because actually the word evangelism, I don't know if it's in the text of at least the New American Standard Bible.
It's the phrase, speak to you and bring you this good news.
Like that's the one word being translated.
So to speak and bring good news, that's evangelism and not verse.
If you want to flip your page on your Bible, go to Luke chapter 2 verse 10.
Is it 210? 220?
Yeah.
The shepherd went back, oh it should be 10, I put 20.
So the angel said to them, do not be afraid for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.
Where's that word evangelism in there?
Good news of great joy, yeah.
So it's really that whole phrase is, I bring you good news.
I think that's really the word, it's evangelism which fit right in there.
And what are they doing?
Are they making something up?
Are they teaching something?
What does the angel say?
It says, yeah, for today in the city of David,
there's been born for you a Savior who has Christ the Lord.
If you knew that, and then I said okay, go tell somebody that.
Would that be hard to do?
If you knew it, no, it'd be easy to do.
Because really evangelism is just sharing something you know.
And really if you wanted to really drill it down,
it's sharing the good things you know about God, or Jesus.
That's what evangelism is.
So can any Christian be an evangelist?
Yeah, because if you're baptized, what happened?
Do you know something about Jesus?
Yeah, and also your sins were washed away.
And you used to be one way, now you're another way.
You can all of that, just sharing that.
Yeah, I used to be, you know, an alcoholic or whatever, angry.
And I was saved by Jesus and now I've learned to overcome that stuff.
So that's like a good news, like Jesus helped me.
He forgave me of my sins.
I also get eternal life.
That's good news.
And we can all share the good things we know about God.
You know, you learn a Bible verse, right?
That's comforting or helpful.
And you say, yeah, I've been through something similar.
And this Bible verse really helped me.
That's being an evangelist.
Because you're sharing the good things you know about God.
And so we can all do that.
And I think one of the important things is stop.
Don't make evangelism a process.
Or I mean, there are things that like a craft, you know,
there are aspects to it that can be that.
But really bring it down.
Okay.
We can all tell the good things we know about Jesus.
And so all of us, like we can.
And that's when we say, okay, be an evangelist.
And that's really what we're doing.
We're just sharing the good things we know about Jesus.
Burn it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I find that people who are the featured,
I find it easier to talk about the priorities.
Right.
I like them.
I like them.
Right.
Get out of there.
Jesus is talking to the Lord about the Lord as it is.
Talking about the great work of him.
That's what it was made for a lot of people.
They've been to talk about something to say to the Lord.
Yeah.
Well, I don't know if that's exactly the case,
but like it's just like anything.
I've got to talk to them.
Yeah.
Yeah.
A lot of people that you've been across,
if you want to kill a conversation,
start talking about the Lord,
not talking about members of the church.
Yeah.
Well, don't you talk about employee company?
Politics.
Politics and religion.
Politics and religion.
Yeah.
Why is that?
Because you can get pushback on both of those things.
I want to recommend going somewhere like Seattle
and just striking up a conversation with some random person
about MAGA or something like that.
Right.
They are, it will probably, will not be well received.
And so you may not talk about politics with certain people
because you know, okay, well, this probably may not be well received
or I want to be polite company or that sort of a thing.
But you know, so that can be a hindrance.
And you know, that can be maybe even a nobel fear.
Right.
I don't want to turn people away from the Lord.
But then, but at the same time, you know, finding a way,
that's graceful.
Because well, we're told it to speak the truth and love.
Right.
To let our speech be with grace season as it were,
so that you may know how to respond to each person.
Right.
And so to me, it's a matter of,
there's an aspect of grace that goes along with it.
People don't really like it.
If you talk about yourself and you don't listen to them.
Right.
And so if you want to tell someone about the good things God's done for you,
maybe the first step is listening to them talk about what's going on in their life
and build some credibility with them or some build relationship with them.
Right.
So evangelism isn't just going to, like there is going to be some craft in that.
But also, at the same time, evangelism is a doable thing.
And it's something we do.
Like it is something we do.
Like you said, if you saw a good movie or you saw something interesting
or whatever, you're going to tell people you think would be interested in it.
You're going to find a way to bring it up in conversation.
And it's the same kind of practice for evangelism.
Mike.
So some of that I've kind of done is covering the ability into the conversation.
I think that kind of all those people who are kind of interested in talking about it.
Yeah.
You guys are also, sometimes it may not even be that same day.
They may say, you know, we want to admit that.
But I have found where sometimes people start to break down you.
And you bring that conversation.
Yeah.
And I think that, you know, like, yeah, that's a good way to do it.
Especially, yeah, people don't care how much you know unless they know how much you care.
Right?
That's kind of what kind of that sort of, there's all these sayings that you can throw out there.
But, yeah, that's a, that is a way to do it is you've got to care.
You've got to be humble.
You've got to put their needs before your own.
Matt.
Absolutely great.
I used to think that, you know, when you got into the conversation,
I would feel so devastated when I'd have a conversation with someone.
And I didn't feel like I got this big giant break through, you know.
And then, you know, you could get the conversation,
but that was a huge mark.
You know, you don't really, you don't have to have that giant break through.
Really, all you need to do is plan to see and let the audience know.
Yeah.
I think that, I mean, there's a couple of aspects to that,
that what you're saying is really important is, yeah, you're building a relationship.
Right?
You're building something with them.
And so, if you think of it on that term, it's okay.
Well, I'm going to make, try and cross paths with this person on a regular basis
and build up for poor and build up relationship and talk about our faith.
And, you know, sometimes what it's going to be is you meet someone who has a measure of faith.
There is a disciple, but, you know, I think a lot of disciples are not saved
because they don't obey the Lord and baptism and do some certain things that need to be done.
But they still might know things about the Bible.
And you can ask them a question and let them talk to you about those things
and build a relationship there and get into those conversations.
Yeah.
So, yeah, that's it.
Excellent what you're saying.
What was that?
Well, is that?
But, you know, the whole thing is that you just take your time, okay?
You don't go in like bored, you know, trying to cross, okay?
You have to build a relationship if they take several months,
but at some point they're not able to draw a king, okay?
And I find that how they respond is to whether they're taking any further or back off or whatever, okay?
And I think, you know, some people are better at it than others.
Certainly, yeah.
Have you had a bad experience with that?
I don't do that.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
No, yeah.
You're right.
I think, you know, just being, realizing, okay, this we're playing for long game, not always short game.
And also, there's been a few times where I feel like the Lord is kind of pulled back the curtain.
And I've known a few people where they interacted.
And I happen to know the group of people they interacted with which were not connected,
like different churches and things, but this guy said this to him and they made this change.
And this guy said this to him and they made this change.
And this person over there said something to him and they, and eventually it led to them being baptized at least.
The guy I'm thinking of can't recall his name.
I'll think about it before a minute, but he, I think he left the state.
So he went to Florida.
But, you know, there's all these little interactions with him through the way where the Lord was really trying to win him.
And even, I thought he was in Florida for a time.
He came back because his dad had cancer.
And I bumped into a Mikasco.
And that was like, I didn't even know he was in town.
So we got to chat about it.
But it was like all these little interactions that he would tell me about.
And I happen to know the people involved in that.
But it was like a lot of little things that though, and the Lord,
so when we say planting a seed, what's that going to look like?
It's going to look like the Lord's going to get information to them all along the way,
trying to lead them into faith.
And so, yeah, saying something can have an effect better than not saying something.
I think the danger in the seed thing, I knew a guy.
And he was instructing me on evangelism, wanted to give some instruction there.
And he said what he did was, when he gets those pre-stamped envelopes in the mail,
like just fill out your information and send it back.
And it was like free mailing.
It was a prepaid postage paid.
He would put Bible tracks in there and send them back.
And call that evangelism.
And he's like, yeah, you just got to plant the seed.
And I was like, I don't know that there's a biblical precedent for impersonal,
just randomized things, right?
So Mike.
So to that point, you know, maybe in the major, I was young.
I had the same mentality, unfortunately, where I wanted to commit for two-year people.
I had a standard sheet of these.
He said, what's better?
How about 100 mint teas that are okay?
Or have one or two that are great?
That's like, that's always kind of stuff.
It's the same thing.
Like you said, you can be going out and ask the choir,
and then they say that they know where you can spend time,
who are important to you people,
and make sure that they're open to them.
Yeah.
And also, you might just ask on that.
Is what did Jesus do?
Yeah, 12 guys.
Three of them were his, you know, the three, right?
And they were the ones that really took a lot more of the leadership.
Like, yeah, he had just a handful of people.
And he trusted them to be able to go out and do more.
So, yeah, I think that's a great point.
Burn?
Yeah, I find a lot of people will try to do evangelism.
We, we will, we will not push people away.
This is what you're going to do.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, there's a little bit of both, but I think that really,
the middle ground seems to be for at least for me.
Like, you got to be really, they're like, build a relationship,
which means you got to invest in people.
But you got to give something of yourself in that process.
Show them that I value you enough to give something that of my time or something of my attention
or whatever as to benefit you.
And I think, you know, that kind of hits the middle where it may not come to anything.
And you're not expecting reciprocation, right?
Because a lot, I mean, a lot of times, not everyone wants to hear what you have to offer.
Not everyone's going to go along with all the things you say,
or they won't see it in the scripture.
They'll do other things.
But that doesn't mean that if you put value there.
Right.
Yeah.
Well, when I knew some people who built the book,
they threw a friendship in the papers.
Yeah.
Right in front of you today.
The rest of it, and then I'll just put a radio program on the screen for you.
90, well, or 90% through a friendship.
Yeah.
Well, people will, yeah, I mean, that's, I think, a true thing.
So, and the Lord builds in opportunity for the gospel into our lives, right?
Because we have come in contact with a lot of people on a regular basis in our various circles.
So we have opportunities there.
All right.
So turn with me to Mark chapter five, verse one.
I'm going to read, this is a little bit of a lengthy reading.
I might skip some of it, but it'll be five, one through 20,
but I might skip a little bit of it.
But we want to get the, we want to understand what this guy was like,
and then what he became.
So that's, I think, the important thing.
They came to the other side of the sea into the country of the garrisines.
When he got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs
with an unclean spirit met him.
And he had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one was able to bind him anymore,
even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains
and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken into pieces.
And no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Constantly, an item day, he was screaming among the tombs and the mountains,
and gashing himself with stones.
Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down to form
and shouted with a loud voice.
And shouting with a loud voice, he said,
what business do we have with each other, Jesus, son of the most high God?
I implore you, my God, do not torment me.
So just stop real quick.
Does this guy seem to be a very credible witness?
Like, if you were saying, okay, I'm going to go recruit an evangelist.
And so you go to the other side of the sea.
This is kind of the decapitalist area, kind of a Greek culture area.
And you say, who, who am I going to send out to go spread the good news in this area?
Would this be your first pick?
Yes, no.
Because you never get a second chance of an adverse depression.
And if this is what this guy is saying about many people,
each one of them, people like me.
Yeah, I mean, he's the nutty guy, right?
Like, out in the, out, out living among the tombs, like living in a graveyard,
being loud, cutting yourself with rocks, like running around naked.
Like, that is, that seems to me like a rough person.
Because even if you change, what do they say?
Would they even say about Jesus?
The prophet is not, is not without honor except in his hometown.
What about a demonic?
Is he with, not without honor except in his hometown?
I feel like it's the other way around, maybe.
Like, in his hometown, everyone knows him.
Oh, yeah, that's that guy.
And, yeah, he's calmer now, but, I mean, he's still talking about this guy
and saying some crazy things about him, right?
Like, so, I mean, you could be received in both ways.
So you wouldn't typically think of this guy as an evangelist.
Now, what about you take this guy and give him zero training
and let him be the one you're depending on to get the whole region ready to receive you?
Does that seem like a real good strategy for evangelism?
No.
It doesn't seem like it to me, either.
So Jesus cast out 2,000 demons from him, or 1,000 demons, but anyway, a legion, 2,000.
They went in the pegs, drawn in the sea, verse 15.
I'm sorry, verse 14.
There hurts been ran away and reported it in the city and country,
and the people came to see what it was that had happened.
They came to Jesus, observed the man who had been demon possessed,
sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind.
They're very man who had the legion, and they became frightened.
Those who had seen it described to them how it happened to the demon possessed man and all about the swine,
and they began imploring him to leave their region.
So they saw what happened.
They saw the guy, I mean, they saw he was in his right mind,
but they were like, I don't want any of this here.
Jesus, just getting your bow and leaf.
So that was his reception in the garrison area.
First time Jesus went over there.
They said, you have to leave, we don't want you around,
and if you actually do the math on the pegs,
that was probably at least half a million dollars,
maybe more in a pig profit that was killed.
So there was a huge, someone took a hit on that.
Yeah, no more Hampton, which isn't bacon or whatever else they did with those things.
They implored him to leave.
Verse 19, and he did not, oh, verse 18.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed was imploring him
that he might accompany him.
And he did not let him get in, but said to him,
go home to your people and report to them the great things the Lord has done for you
and how he had mercy on you.
And he went away and began to proclaim it into the capitalist,
what great things Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
So, what did the guy, what doctrine did he know?
I mean, as far as we know, he didn't know any.
All he knew is the good things God had done for him.
Was that enough to make him an effective evangelist?
Yeah, I mean, he knew nothing, right?
He knew I was tormented by demons and the Lord spared me from that.
How many of us could say the same thing?
How many of us could just say that?
Maybe not demons, but I was tormented by sin and the Lord spared me.
Matt, Matt, Matt could say that.
So, no one else but Matt.
Yeah, no, we all could say that, right?
We all could look at our lives and see what we were like before the Lord
and see how he spared us.
Especially as you go on, like, the Lord is so kind and he's so patient
to let you have a chance to like recognize your problems
and maybe you recognize them and you just don't know what to do with them
or whatever it is.
But we can all say, yeah, I was tormented by sin and the Lord spared me.
And here's how that looked.
Becky?
Our student, this is one of the parts of the good news that people need to hear
is that you can have weaknesses and troubles and things
and it's God that changes you.
It's in a Jesus' change.
Yeah.
So he helps you rid yourself of those things.
That's part of the good news.
I was this and now I'm that because God has done great things to me.
Yeah.
And we sing songs about that.
They're like amazing grace.
That's all about the grace of God who saved a wretch like me.
Right?
And yeah, because everybody, like whether or not they are acknowledging it,
sin brings pain.
Right?
Like one of the things that happened when sin entered the world
was pain entered the world.
And I heard someone kind of talking about overview of the Bible.
The Old Testament, but the Bible really is a history of pain.
What pain has happened through the course of the world because of sin?
Right?
It's a history of pain.
People who live in sin live in pain in various ways.
And that's why so many people are trying to like numb the pain in all these ways.
Right?
So this man was in pain and the Lord spared him.
And now he went out to go share that message.
People were amazed and look here in Mark chapter 7.
So in through the course of Jesus' ministry,
this is our second report of Jesus returning to the decapolis.
So Mark 7, 31.
Again, he went out from the region of Pyrrheid Sidon to the Sea of Galilee
within the region of the decapolis, which is the garrisons.
They brought him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty
and they implored him to lay his hands on him.
Jesus took him aside from the crowd by himself and put his fingers into his ears.
And after spitting, he touched his tongue with his saliva
and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh,
he said to him,
he said to him,
be open.
And his ears were opened and the impediment of his tongue was removed
and he began speaking plainly.
And he gave the mortars not to tell anyone,
but the more he ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.
They were utterly astonished saying he has done things well.
He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.
How was he greeted the first time?
Get out of here, get back in your boat and leave.
He leaves this guy alone there for a while.
I don't know how long.
But when he returns, a crowd greets him.
And then they bring some more an impossible job here.
He'll this guy.
And Jesus does it and says,
well, don't talk about it, right?
He likes to be able to go teach and then heal.
He couldn't get them to stop talking about it.
And so everybody was coming and everyone,
oh, he's doing everything well.
But different greeting.
Well, what was the difference?
One man telling people about the good things God did for him.
So you say, okay, what about Court of Lane?
I hope some of us are more credible than that guy, right?
But even if we're not,
we don't need to be something.
It wasn't him.
It was God working through him that made the difference.
And I think a lot of times when we start looking and evaluating
ourselves, isn't that where we kind of miss the mark?
Is we say, I'm not enough.
Well, the reality is you don't have to be enough.
Like, I mean, it's good to have good qualities.
Like, for instance,
being upright is going to help in your ability to evangelize
because when people see you living the way you claim to live,
well, that's like having a good reputation.
That's going to help.
And so we need to have some of that.
But ultimately, this is about sharing the good things
that God has done for us.
And so if you look at this, I hope we could all say,
hey, I could do this, right?
Like, that's what we want to be.
Evangelism is really easy.
Sharing the good things you know about God.
There's this passage in Psalm 34.
And in my view, this is one of the best passages
about evangelism you could find in the Bible.
Like, really, one of the best.
And it describes it perfectly.
It says, I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will be continually in my mouth.
So here's a personal conviction.
I'm going to praise the Lord at all times.
That's how I live my life.
Well, why would you praise the Lord at all times?
Because I've seen so many good things about it.
Right? His praise will continually be in my mouth.
This is someone who's thankful.
Someone who is looking for God.
Someone who reads the Bible and sees it play out in life.
So this is, I will praise the Lord at all times.
His praise will be continually in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord.
And the humble will hear it and rejoice.
Like, you think about that.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord.
You guys need to write about it.
What gives me value?
Right?
What is good about me?
A lot of times when men introduce themselves,
I'm Steve and here's my job.
Right?
A lot of times men put their value in their employment or in there.
I'm Steve and I play football or something.
Or I'm Steve and I used to play college football or I didn't.
But that's how people would brag.
Right?
I used to do this or I used to be this or I can do these things.
And a lot of times we try to tie our value up with our ability to do things.
Or when we think about ourselves.
Like, yeah, but I'm just really good at this.
And that's where that's what I want to do.
That's what I want to be.
What he's saying is, no, my soul makes its boast in the Lord.
And the humble will hear it in rejoice.
And that's a great thing because the humble is the poor,
the sinful, the downtrodden.
And if you say, you don't have to be great or in a high station of life,
you can boast if you're boast as the Lord.
Right? And so it kind of takes away.
You don't have to be elite.
You don't have to be a millionaire.
This high level thing.
You can be valuable in the fact that your relationship is with the Lord.
And I think that's kind of the idea is that he's sharing value of knowing the Lord.
Verse three.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.
So here is the evangelism.
What's he doing here?
What is verse three?
Yeah, magnify the Lord with me.
Praise his name with me.
So what might this look like?
And this is just a simple thing, but hey, how are you today?
What's your answer?
I'm blessed.
Yeah, I'm blessed too.
Or the Lord is good.
Yeah, he's always good.
You know what just happened in that exchange?
You just magnify the Lord together.
You offered an invitation for someone to praise the Lord.
And they did.
In a very small way, you built someone's faith up and they built your faith up.
Over time, what does that turn into?
It can turn into a relationship.
It can turn into salvation.
If somebody praises the Lord enough, what's going to happen next?
They're going to be blessed.
They're going to be blessed.
They're going to become a Christian.
People who praise God are Christians.
I think that's the metric.
People who praise God are Christians.
And their boast becomes the Lord.
Verse four.
I saw the Lord and He answered me and He delivered me from all my fears.
I looked to Him and were radiant and their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried and the Lord heard Him and saved Him out of all His troubles.
Isn't that interesting?
Praise the Lord with me.
Why?
Why should I praise the Lord?
Because this poor man sought Him and He delivered Him out of all His troubles.
What message did that demoniac give when He went up to the people in his town and said,
you really ought to consider listening to Jesus.
Why would I listen to Jesus?
That guy cost me half a million dollars.
Yeah, but this poor man cried out to Him and He delivered Him.
That is our job.
When you say, okay, there's a lot of things people say, okay, well here's all the techniques.
Here's 50 techniques for evangelism.
But I feel like techniques are not the most important part of evangelism.
And we'll talk about that next week about I had four critical parts or four things that go into evangelism or prevent this from doing evangelism.
I maybe made it five.
But as far as the first step is just sharing the good things you know about God.
So here's our assignment for the week is I want you to practice this and report back next week and tell me how it went.
So you have to, we didn't really talk about the invite tonight, but here's what I want you to do.
I want you to just make an effort to tell five people that, I mean, people you interact with.
It doesn't matter if they're like, I don't want you to tell like your wife and your kids.
I want you to tell five people who need to hear about the Lord or need encouragement in the Lord about the good things you know about God.
Just try that out and then report back how you get responses and how people receive, how well that is received.
So that would be my encouragement for this week.
And next week we'll talk about that and then we'll move on to roadblocks and barriers to evangelism.
Any final thoughts or comments before we wrap it up?
All right, let's close with the word of prayer.