On Sunday pastor Randy said (something like): “[…] we are going to go out in the city of Enschede, and proclaim the word of God! Yes, people will laugh, but we will still go and do it, for this city needs to know Jesus.” When you heard him saying this, did you also experience that shrinking feeling in your stomach? Did you think of what are the ‘good reasons’ for you not go along?
If you answered yes and relate to that feeling, then I relate to you. I understand these feelings and today we will reflect upon the motivations behind doing evangelism.
Evangelism is a word full of meaning. Some people have good memories of it, others have bad ones. Evangelism, in very simple terms, is sharing with people your faith in Jesus. Now, we all know that there are amazing evangelists out there, Todd White, for example. But we are not all like him and we don’t all have his same gifts. And that is OK. Yet, if we have all met Jesus and we have accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour, we do have something to share. If you had an encounter with Jesus, I know for sure that there are a few things that have changed in your life, and have changed for the better. Maybe you are not totally there yet, but, for sure you have something to say about who Jesus is for you and how much your life has changed. Is this not enough? YES! This is enough. This is enough to go out and share with people about your faith.
In Luke 8:26-39 we read a beautiful story of a man afflicted by Satan. His life is controlled by demons, but Jesus delivers him and sends him back to his hometown saying:
“…go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he (the man) went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him. Luke 8:39
Jesus is asking this man to share what God has done for him. And that is the core of evangelism.
Evangelism, is important because we get to share with the world what God has done for us. We don’t need to share someone else’s story or using someone else’s words, it is our testimony to others. This is so important because the world out there does not know that Jesus can heal, save and restore lives. They see Jesus as a religion, as a name. But we know that He is much more than that, and by sharing our experience/story we bring people closer to encounter Him.
Evangelism makes people curious. Evangelism convicts people when they hear our story, and gives them an option in life.
How many people live without knowing that they can be loved, and settle with a life of abuse and loneliness? They don’t know that in having faith in Jesus they have the option to be loved and healed. That’s why we need to share our lives and our testimonies, to inspire people to see and choose for something else, something better: God.
I want to challenge you today to think and record an audio/video of max 2 or 3 min where you share how your life has changed since you have faith in Jesus. Please be specific, try to share with vulnerability as much as you can. Keep the audio/video with you for now, but do take the time to do this.
Be blessed and encouraged,
Irene
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