Sunday, November 22, 2015 pm
EVANGELISM 2015
Obstacles to Winning Souls – Within Us
Throughout this year (and parts of last year), we have been discussing
the subject of evangelism – a term that simply means, the work of
reaching the lost. We
sometimes call this personal work, but that term involves more than just
evangelism. We have
addressed attitudes that ought to motivate us toward seeking the lost,
looked at examples in scripture of teaching the lost (individuals, Jesus
and churches), and other areas.
There is much more to discuss as we get into specifics.
But
often there are obstacles that stand in our way of doing what we ought
to do. There are obstacles
within us that keep us from getting started, and there are obstacles
without that make our efforts more challenging.
Obstacles are there, but how we deal with them is what counts.
So today we want to address some obstacles we face within us.
In a future lesson (probably next year) we will notices some of
the outward obstacles that we face.
NOTE: Some of this lesson is a review of what we have addressed
this past year.
a.
A failure to trust in God – faith in God is crucial to all we do (Heb. 11:6).
We need to believe that God has given us all that we need to fulfill His
instructions in this area.
We also need to let Him take care of what we cannot do.
Put it in His hands as some say.
Recall that Paul said in 1 Cor. 3:5-6 – all we do is plant and water.
It is God who gives the increase, etc.
We need to believe that God wants man to be saved – 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Tim.
2:3-4
b.
A failure to realize the
power of the gospel
– some see the gospel as no longer effective.
That is the results of modernism which has attacked the integrity
of the gospel.
But people need the gospel now desperately and there are many who are
looking.
Our task is to tell it and let it do the work – Romans 1:16, Hebrews
4:12. James 1:21 tells us
the implanted word is able to save your soul.
c.
A belief that no one is interested – it certainly seems that way, but it is not true.
There are always souls that are searching, and our task is to
keep our eyes and ears open to find them.
As we previously noted – pray for opportunities!
The harvest is plentiful – Matthew 9:37-38
a.
We have addressed proper
attitudes needed including love, concern, humility, unselfishness,
patience, commitment, desire to please God and conviction.
Some faulty attitudes include:
b.
Lack of boldness and
fear – last
month we addressed the need for courage in reaching the lost.
i.
Courage is needed to be
bold. We live in a society
where we are fearful of being bold – political correctness, fear of
offending and upsetting others, and the way the gospel has been
villainized, often by so-called believers.
Add to this our lack of confidence in ourselves - we become
timid. This is an attitude
we must overcome.
ii.
Boldness was a trait of
Biblical examples.
Philippians 1:14 finds brethren becoming more bold as they considered
Paul in his chains.
John the Baptist, when he saw religious leaders coming to his baptism,
he siad, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to
come” He then called upon them to repent and bear fruit worthy of
repentance (Matt. 3:7-8, cf. Luke 3:7-8)
iii.
Jesus was very bold in
exposing wickedness and telling others what they needed to do.
He told the rich, young ruler he needed to sell all that he had
(Matthew 19:21-22)
iv.
Let us learn to boldly
say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear!
What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5-6)
Pray for boldness – Ephesians 6:19-20
v.
Ephesians 3:12 – our
boldness is in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have faith.
c.
Lack of zeal –
i.
It takes a zealous
attitude to accomplish great things.
It takes zeal for a cause to help us overcome problems in dealing
with it. If we are not
fervent about something, it will probably show in the way we execute
that task.
ii.
We need to be “zealous
for good works” – Titus 2:14
iii.
Consider the example of
Jeremiah 20:9 – the word was in his heart burning like a fire that he
could not hold back.
iv.
Psalm 39:1-3 similarly
finds David wanting to guard his ways and words, but he had to speak.
v.
Acts 4:20, Peter and
John, “We cannot but speak the
things we have seen and heard.”
vi.
There is no easy way to
overcome this attitude.
Usually, it is a matter of just getting to work and in time it will
catch fire.
d.
Discouragement
– frustrations come from many sources.
It is easy to become discouraged and feel defeated.
Contrary to what some say, life is hard.
Time wears on you. At
times, it can seem hopeless.
i.
Satan will do anything
he can to discourage you. He
will rob you of your confidence and hope if you let him.
But you have to resist him – 1 Peter 5:8-9
ii.
Realize that being
discouraged is not wrong within itself.
iii.
IT is how you respond to
discouragement that matters –
Galatians 6:9 – do not grow weary in doing good
Far too many of us dwell on our failures and frustrations, sometimes
they are genuine, but often times they are matters beyond our control or
not even something that affects us personally (i.e. When one rejects the
gospel – it is not you they have rejected – but God – John 15:18 –“if
the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”,
1 Thess. 4:8 – rejecting purity is rejecting God.
iv.
Keep going – get to
work. Perhaps step back and
get a look at the bigger picture.
a.
We have addressed proper
motives which include – it is commanded, following the example of Jesus
and Biblical examples, because we love God and care about the souls of
others, and because of the joy it will bring others.
But, at times there are motives that will hinder us in trying to reach
others. We may not even
realize that they are there, but they still affect us adversely
regardless. Examples
include:
b.
Prejudice
– qualifying who is worthy to hear.
Is this something that we struggle with?
Are there people within our society that we decide would not be a
good candidate for the gospel?
Whether it be someone too wealthy or too poor.
Perhaps the beggar or someone with problems.
What about someone with a different religious background –
perhaps Muslim, Jewish or atheist?
There are societies that value some souls more than others.
Christians should not do that.
i.
We cannot read hearts – 1 Cor.
2:11a, “What man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man
which is in him?”
ii.
God is no respecter of
persons – Romans 2:11 notes this.
iii.
In James 2:8-9 notes
this clearly.
iv.
Even Jesus, in choosing
the 12 went to tax collectors, zealots, etc.
v.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
describes those that will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
“And such were some of you…”
Some of the best converts are those who have come out of the
world and realize what they have escaped.
c.
We have turned our heads – for many it is simply the fact that we have turned our
heads away from seeing what is really happening.
WE are not really looking!
i.
It is easy to profess
ignorance to excuse our failures.
Do we do that in matters of souls as well?
Whether it be the soul of a wayward brother or someone who we
cross paths with.
ii.
John 4:35 tells us to
lift up our eyes (Luke 10:2).
We have actually emphasized some of this in our studies.
d.
We have lost sight of
eternity –
the realization that every soul will spend eternity somewhere ought to
move us – 2 Cor. 5:10-11.
Sermons on heaven and hell are
powerful tools to motivate us to share the gospel with others.
The reminder of what heaven will be like helps us to endure.
It also gives us an incentive to use in teaching others.
Conversely, the reminder of the reality of hell can move us to
concern and move the hearts of the lost.
e.
We are selfish and lazy
– one thing that has been stressed in our studies is that evangelism is
not easy.
i.
Reaching the lost takes
dedication and hard work.
It takes work to learn so that you can teach.
It takes work to seek others.
So our laziness feeds into our selfishness.
(See passages on zeal above).
ii.
Sometimes we don’t want
to face the inconvenience of bringing some souls into our midst –
especially if they are not “perfect candidates”.
People with “baggage” turn their lives around.
A study of the teachings of Jesus shows that He was willing to
teach, “sinners and tax collectors”, “Samaritan women”, possibly
harlots, the poor and
others.
iii.
There is something to be
said about hoarding our talents, however few they may be.
iv.
The life of a Christian
is about OTHERS! Philippians
2:3-4
f.
We lack the knowledge to reach the lost or how to get started.
– you can’t teach what you don’t know.
As we have emphasized throughout our studies, the excuse of
ignorance will only get you so far (or shall we say, so LONG?).
g.
Misunderstandings about the church –
i.
There are many who do
not understand what the church is.
They do not comprehend what it means to be PART OF the church.
ii.
Some see the church
collectively as responsible for doing all the work. They reason as long
as we give on Sunday, then we are partakers of whatever happens.
While it is true that we are part of what is done collectively,
that is NOT all there is to the church.
1) We cannot HIRE the church to
teach for us. Some
see the preacher as the teacher, elders as dealing with the wayward, and
deacons as taking care of the needs of people and the facility.
All they need to do is show up and contribute!
2) We cannot reason that the
church is here to cater to our personal whims.
There are some who are “high maintenance” and expect everyone to
do everything for them.
(Again, not excusing our need to be there for one another, but there is
more to the body than that.)
3) We cannot think that the church
is only in existence when we assemble – there is work to be done
OUTSIDE the confines of the assembly.
iii.
Be reminded of 1 Cor.
12:12-27 which notes that we each have a part.
Similarly, Ephesians 4:16 speaks of this as well.
iv.
We must remind ourselves
that the success of the church AND ITS FUTURE depends upon us doing our
part. If we fail to do our
part, the church is going to die!
A
part of developing proper motives and attitudes is to deal with the
improper motives and attitudes first.
The Bible is clear about getting rid of that which hinders us
from doing what we ought to be doing.
You have to cleanse the house before you can refurnish it.