~ EVANGELISM ~
AMERICA’S ONLY HOPE
Are you praying for a revival? Do you want a revival in America? Did you know that Jesus never promised revival, and that the apostles and early Christians never expected or prayed for a revival? What Jesus commanded was for believers to go into all of the world – into the cities – and verbally preach the gospel. He lived in a society that had many of the same problems that we have today. His solution to the world’s problems has not changed.
Sadly, many Christians today are concerned about nothing more than their own personal “fire insurance.” They spend most of their spare time on self-gratification – endless things like sports, camping, hunting, fishing, and entertainment. The Bible refers to these people as “carnal Christians.” Thankfully, there are those Christians who are truly concerned about issues such as homosexuality, abortion, new age, government, public school, pornography, etc. However, the majority of Christians are neglecting or ignoring the Lord’s command to evangelize, even though the effect of public evangelism is the only thing that will solve these and other problems.
Some may make the excuse that “evangelism” is just not their gift. Others have bought the comfortable “lifestyle evangelism” lie, while still others choose to take up their cross and go on a luxury cruise while they pray to God to fix things and bring a revival. If we want to fix things, we must go into all the world and preach the gospel. We will see in the book of Acts that Jesus’ followers understood clearly what He had commanded.
Jesus commanded all Christians to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15
“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14
The following verses from Acts are examples of the obedience of the early Christians:
Acts 2:14,41 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
Acts 3:9-13 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.
12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.
Acts 4:4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Acts 8:4-6 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.
Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,
Acts 8:25 So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
Acts 8:39-40 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
Acts 13:4-6 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,
Acts 14:1-7 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; and there they continued to preach the gospel.
Acts 7:21 After they had preached the gospel to that city (Derbe) and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
Acts 14:24-25 They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.
Acts 17:6 When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;
MARKET PLACE PREACHING
Acts 17:16-20 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”
Acts 19:26 You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.
Acts 26:16-18 But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’
1 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
Philippians 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
1 Thessalonians 2:14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,
Until Christians decide to obey their Savior, nothing in America, or the world, will get better – it will only get worse. The situation in America today – with things such as legal abortion, homosexuality, etc.– is the product of God’s people not evangelizing effectively in the market place for well over one hundred years. The majority is no longer moral! America is a government of the people. To change the government in America, we must change the people. Evangelism, and only evangelism, can save souls, change lives, and change our nation!
Are you praying for a revival? Until you get off your knees and onto your feet; until you grab your Bible and a handful of tracts; until you confess your cowardice and fear and set your forehead like flint; until you actually determine that you are going to talk to people about their souls and give them the message of the gospel of the free gift of eternal life to save them from the hell that they deserve; until you obey – there will be no change of lasting value. We may win a few battles. But we’re losing the war. It is the preaching of the gospel that will change souls, America, and the world. Did you win a soul today? Yesterday? When? Why not?
Acts 1:8 . . . but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Do you have the Holy Spirit? Well, where is the power? Where are those who witness in the “market place” today? Read the book of Acts! Read Foxes’ Book of Martyrs! The early Christians had the power and did obey at the cost of their lives and changed the Roman Empire forever. They were not lazy, entertainment-prone, closet Christians quivering in their boots like most Americans Christians are. We are protected by our Constitution (so far), yet we make the Laodician Christians in Rev. 3:12-16 look good!
If you are a Christian who wants to obey your Savior, you may need to be trained. The pastors and evangelists in the church (not para-church institutions) are the teachers God has provided to equip the saints (Eph. 4:11-14). The pastors and deacons of your church should be taking you out door-to-door, on the streets, in the market place, in the malls, at bus stops, libraries, college campuses, parks, fairs, or wherever there are people. They should be teaching you by example how to witness and share a clear gospel and other sound doctrines. If they are not, encourage them to do so. If they refuse, then they are like those in Isaiah 56:10,11, and it is time for you to find another church.
If you are really serious about reaching people for your Savior and changing the problems of our world the way Jesus commanded, then we would welcome hearing from you. We are out evangelizing “in the market place” almost every day. Join in and see what we do. God is looking for warriors, not worriers (Luke 14: 26,27; Eph . 6:11-18). If this seems intimidating to you, just think of what the early Christians went through so that the whole world might hear the gospel. We can’t say we love Him and appreciate what He did for us and then not obey Him.