Sunday, September 27, 2015 pm
EVANGELISM 2015
Prayer and Evangelism
This year we have been addressing the need to evangelize (proclaim the
gospel to the lost). Every
Christian has a responsibility to seek the lost according to the
ability. For many the
problem is about will. For
others knowing what to do and how to do it is the challenge.
Our goal this year is to in some way motivate us to do better at
reaching the lost, and to give us some tools to build our courage and
confidence to do whatever we can do.
Today, in coordination with this month’s theme of prayer as we strive to
go on to perfection, we want to address prayer in evangelism.
This will serve as an emphasis on how important prayer is in this
area AND it will help us make application to prayer in our lives in
general – (as we thoroughly pray in this effort, perhaps we can be
equally thorough in other areas that we pray for).
Reaching the lost is an important endeavor.
We should NOT engage in it alone.
We need God on our side as we engage in this work.
As Jesus said speaking of being the Vine and us as the branches,
He said, “Without Me you can do
nothing.” (John 1:5)
In
scripture we find numerous commands and examples of prayers concerning
the lost. Let us notice some
things we can pray for in evangelism.
Some have direct
reference to these prayers,
and others indirectly would include them.
a.
As
Christians we are commanded to “pray for one another” – James 5:16, 1
Thessalonians 5:17, etc.
1 Samuel 12:23 – the sin of not praying.
An interesting example of the importance of prayer.
Samuel after God permitted a king and warning them of what would
happen, notes that he must keep praying for them.
That includes prayers for evangelism.
Colossians 4:2
“Continue earnestly in prayer,
being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;”
This is followed up by a request to be praying that a door would
be opened.
Luke 10:2, Jesus told His disciples to pray for God to send forth
laborers.
a.
Matt. 6:5
“Your Kingdom come, your will be
done” – while we know the kingdom has already come (Col. 1:13),
there is a sense in which we can pray for the furtherance of His
kingdom. Is it not our
goal that this kingdom be preached “to every creature under heaven”?
(Col. 1:23) And that would
include reaching the lost.
b.
Consider 2
Thessalonians 3:1, “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word
of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with
you,”
c.
Thought!
Is it God’s will that the lost come to Him?
As we pray about this, it serves as a reminder to us to do our
part.
a.
We have
emphasized the need to be right with God if He is to use us to reach
others. Romans 12:1-2, 1
Peter 1:15-16. 1 Peter
3:12 tells us the ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the
righteous.
1 John 3:21-22, we receive what we ask because we keep His commandments.
b.
That means
that if we have sin, we need to “repent and pray” – Acts 8:22 to be
forgiven. 1 John 1:9 –
confess your sins.
c.
It is when
we do this, that our prayers avail much (James 5:16).
Would that include our prayers for the lost in various ways?
a.
Consider
the parable of the talents - we all have abilities.
Matthew 25:14-30.
Do we pray to Him to help us develop and use them?
Do these abilities INCLUDE seeking the lost?
b.
Philippians 2:12-13 – we work out our own salvation “for
it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
c.
Isaiah
said, “Here am I, send me” (Isaiah 6:8)
a.
An example
of God using us would be prayers for opportunities to seek and teach the
lost.
b.
Open
doors, Col. 4:2-4 – as Paul challenges these brethren to continue
earnestly in prayer, one thing he requests is that prayers be made for
God to open to us a door for the word of God.
Note that Paul is a great evangelist, but now he is under “house arrest”
but he still seeks opportunities.
c.
John 4:35, Jesus taught His
disciples to open their eyes and notice the fields ready for harvest.
One point He is making here is that sometimes opportunities are
where we are not looking.
d.
Could we
be praying for open eyes and open doors?
a.
Proverbs
11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins
souls is wise.”
b.
James
1:4-5, if you lack wisdom, pray to God about it.
c.
Col .4:4-6
– after Paul requests prayers for open doors, he gives the following
instructions, “that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that
you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
ALL these things require wisdom
and Paul had requested prayers so that he might be successful in these
endeavors.
d.
Do we pray
for wisdom to say the right thing at the right time? Make manifest as I
ought to speak. That
our speech be with grace, seasoned with salt?
Col. 1:9-10, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard
it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with
the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful
in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
a.
Matthew
5:13-16 – let our lights shine so that God will be glorified.
b.
Philippians 2:14-16 – we are to shine as lights in the midst of a
crooked and perverse generation.
c.
In 1 Cor.
9:19-23, Paul spoke of being all things to all men – giving several
examples of this. Such
requires a degree of understanding and wisdom to be able to convict them
in whatever circumstance they find themselves.
d.
Ask God to
help you be the example you need to be so that you can win souls to Him.
This is an application of using wisdom to reach others.
a.
We should
not be ashamed of the gospel – Romans 1:16, Matthew 10:32-33
b.
Fear is
natural at times, especially when you are dealing with unknown variables
and the possibility of rejection or other negative reactions.
Even Paul expressed concerns at times.
1 Cor. 2:3, “I was with you in weakness, in fear and in much trembling.”
But he didn’t let that stop him.
He asked brethren to pray for him in this - Eph. 6:18-20, Paul commanded
continual prayer and supplication so that he would be bold, “praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to
this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and
for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth
boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an
ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to
speak.”
c.
Acts
4:29-31, when Peter and John were released in Jerusalem for preaching
Christ, they reported to their brethren who prayed for them – they
prayed for boldness to speak His word.
God GRANTED IT!
Acts 5:41-42 records yet another arrest and their boldness.
d.
One of the
greater challenges in seeking and reaching the lost is building up the
courage to say something in the first place.
AND, when opportunity presents itself to stand for right and say
what needs to be said. A
lack of courage hinders many from evangelism.
AND the world needs boldness of speech and courage to stand up for and
say the right thing.
e.
We need
to be praying for courage - IF
the apostles needed to pray for boldness, what about us?
a.
As we have
noted, Colossians 4:5-6 tells us to walk in wisdom toward them – not
only does that address our teaching, it also addresses how we view them.
b.
One of the
challenges we face is a tendency to predetermine who is worthy of being
taught. We don’t say that,
but in practice do we find ourselves thinking someone is not interested
even before we really give them a chance?
All you need to do is consider the example of Jesus to know this
is wrong.
c.
We need to
pray to God to convict us to be willing to teach anyone - 2 Cor. 5:11.
Knowing the terror of the Lord, we are to persuade men.
a.
Beyond our
individual and personal capacity, we should also pray for others who are
seeking the lost.
b.
Luke 10:2,
Jesus tells the 70 He sent out, “Pray
the Lord of harvest to send out laborers…”
It wasn’t just them, but others also who would be teaching.
c.
Matthew
9:36-38 – on another occasion, Jesus called for His disciples to pray a
similar prayer.
d.
1
Corinthians 3:5-9 – Paul planted, Apollos watered, God gives the
increase. We are fellow
workers.
e.
There are
lost souls not only around us, but throughout the world.
There are preachers and Christians in difficult fields.
Do we pray for them?
Do we pray for the men we are supporting along with their works?
As we hear about brethren and their needs , do we pray for them?
a.
In 1 Tim.
2:1-3, we are told to pray
for all men, including kings and those in authority.
The reason is so that we can lead a quiet and peaceable life.
b.
2 Thess.
3:1-3 – “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord
may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that
we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have
faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you
from the evil one.”
c.
We
conditions are hostile to the gospel, pray for that to change OR for
opportunities that might arise BECAUSE of these circumstances.
a.
Related to the previous
point, as we seek to teach others, Satan will hinder us in whatever way
he can. Be aware of
his devices – 2 Cor. 2:11 and resist him – 1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7
b.
Pray that he be overcome and to
guard us from him – again note 2
Thess. 3:2-3 as Paul prays we be delivered from unreasonable and wicked
men – those that destroy opportunities.
But also from Satan himself.
c.
When you are faced with
an obstacle to teaching someone, pray about it!
a.
Romans 10:1 – Paul
prayed for Israel that they might be saved.
b.
We are to pray for all
men (1 Tim. 2:1), but also for our enemies - Matt. 5:44-46 – think about
this. As we have noted before, the best way to “defeat” your enemy in a
godly way is to convert him.
c.
For example, consider
Stephen as he is being stoned to death and he prays - Acts 7:60 – NOTE:
Saul (Paul) was there and converted after this by someone else).
d.
Luke 23:34 - Jesus on
the cross, “Father forgive them…”
e.
Be specific – if there
are particular people you would like to reach, pray for them
specifically. Pray about all
the things we have addressed toward them personally – wisdom,
opportunities, boldness, removal of obstacles and the will of God to be
done.
HOW many times does Paul in his letters speak of how he is specifically
praying for a congregation or a person?
a.
The first thing I want
to note is that a healthy congregation is crucial for reaching the lost.
If brethren are not welcoming, if visitors see strife or if there
is apathy and indifference, they will NOT come back!
Churches in this state need to change (i.e. repent).
b.
Paul was continually
concerned about churches and praying for them.
Consider the example of Paul in his letters.
To Thessalonica he thanked God for them (1 Thess. 1:3).
He then praises them for their evangelistic efforts – the word of
God going forth form them – vs. 3, 6-9, etc.
c.
We need churches that
are prepared to reach the lost.
Congregations that can build up new converts.
Churches that pray for lost souls and are serious about growth as
God would have us to.
d.
We need to be praying
for efforts to reach the lost.
For example – our upcoming gospel meeting.
e.
Is the congregation
ready to accept the lost? If
not what will it take for that to happen?
That is definitely something we should be praying for.
And
there we have some things we can pray for to help us in our efforts to
reach the lost. In summary,
if it has to do with reaching the lost, pray about it first.
THEN get busy doing your part.
There are 2 things we must realize as we pray about these things.
1) Such does not eliminate our responsibility to do what we can do.
Turn to God as a tool to point us in the right direction.
Ask Him to use us – but MEAN IT!
2) In these things, realize that not everyone will respond.
So just because you are praying for someone does not necessarily
mean they will react positively.
But you have done your part. And that is what God expects.
Are
you praying for these things?
Think about it!