What has moved you to evangelize?

[food4thought]

Assuming you are here on this particular subforum because God has moved your heart to spread the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ, I want to know: what were the biggest factors in leading you to share your faith on a regular basis? What were the biggest obstacles in your heart, and how did you overcome them? I'm trying to motivate myself to be more evangelistic, and your reasons may help me as well.

God bless you as you seek Him!
Michael

 

[St_Worm2]

Hello Michael (@food4thought), the three things that most motivate me to witness to/evangelize others is 1. my desire to share what I know about God and His salvation so that others can know the same joy, wonder and hope of knowing Him and (thereby) of knowing His great love for them (like I have come to know), 2. because I don't want anyone who wants to spend eternity with God to have to spend it apart from Him instead, and 3. because God has commanded us to preach the Gospel and to glorify Him in doing so.

I also try to remember that if we do not do so (witness/preach the Gospel to those who so desperately need to hear it, that is), who will?

Romans 10​

13 “WHOSOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”​

14 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?​

15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”​

​

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.​

I hope that helps!

God bless you!!

--David

 

[St_Worm2]

Hello again Michael (@food4thought), one last thought that might be worth considering (about witnessing, evangelism, and apologetics) is this, what is (perhaps) the principal reason that God leaves us here (as aliens and strangers in this world) instead of taking us home immediately after He saves us? IOW, what are some of the things that we can only do here (on this side of the grave) as believers?

When you think about it, there really are not many things that can only be done on this side of the grave, are there, which makes those few things VERY important for us to do, yes (especially when you consider who we are)? As the Lord Jesus (and others) have told us,

Matthew 5​

13 “~You~ are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.​

14 ~You~ are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;​

15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.​

16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”​

​

Mark 16​

15 Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.​

16 He who has believed and has been baptized ~shall be saved~; but he who has disbelieved ~shall be condemned.~”​

​

John 3​

16 “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.​

17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.​

18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”​

​

Acts 1​

8 “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.”​

​

Romans 10​

9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;​

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.​

17 Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.​

​

1 Peter 3​

15 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.​

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - and as former athlete, now quadriplegic and missionary, Joni Eareckson Tada says,

 

[food4thought]

Thank you, David. All good reasons. What were some of the obstacles in your heart to acting on these motivations, and how did you overcome them? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Michael

 

[NBB]

I want to evangelize badly, especially to my familiy i realize God exists and without him we are on our own without a future and unsafe, and the worst far away from our creator, and that there a lot of dangers in this world, but at the same time i feel kind of unworthy and not capable, and that my life is not an example of an victorious christian, so other people would say you preach about God but your life seems worse than mine or something like that, i need to overcome a lot of stuff right now.

 

[St_Worm2]

Thank you, David. All good reasons. What were some of the obstacles in your heart to acting on these motivations, and how did you overcome them? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Michael

Hi Michael, the obstacles for me are many, but nothing has been/is more of a problem than my people-pleasing "old man" nature

The loving others part always came pretty easy for me, until I finally admitted that loving someone as a Christian, particularly an unbeliever, cannot be done apart from the truth that they so desperately need to hear, but often don't want to (IOW, both the Gospel AND the bad news too).

So, I'm still a work in progress. That said, some of the things that have and continue to help me with this obstacle include posting here, as I believe that doing so has helped me become a better/more willing/regular witness in the real world

Growing in the knowledge and understanding of God, His word, and of the faith has been very helpful too (I don't think that you need to be a scholar, but it does help to not only know what you believe, but why you believe it, and well enough to be able to explain it clearly to others when neeeded).

On the other hand, I can't recall how many times in the past that I've had to tell people something like this, "You know, that's a great question, but I'm pretty new to the Christian faith and your question is one that I don't know the answer to yet I'm sorry to say. However, it's one that I'd like to know the answer to myself, so please let me check with my pastor and I'll get back to you as soon as I do". Interestingly, no one ever turned me down, so I never hesitate to tell people the truth, even today, if I don't know or am unsure of the answer to a question that I'm asked.

Finally, I have begun to use Greg Koukl's approach to witnessing/evangelism whenever possible, which pretty much amounts to asking leading questions to help people figure things out for themselves (rather than just feeding them answers). I also approach witnessing as a planter or waterer of seeds, rather than always hoping to be a reaper/the person who leads someone all the way to Christ, which seems to make witnessing/evangelism easier and less intimidating (at least for me it does).

You've probably read it already, but in case you haven't, here is Koukl's book on the topic.

​

​

Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions Kindle Edition by Gregory Koukl (Author), Lee Strobel (Foreword)​

​

There's more to discuss, but I'll stop here. I hope that this is the kind of thing that you were looking for/wanting to discuss in this thread, but if not, please let me know!!

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - I find this quote both interesting and important, but few others seem to sadly. Do you agree with Dr. Pink, or do you think that he missed the mark somehow with this one? Thanks again

 

[peacefulseeker]

I don't know if I evangelize.per se, but I had quietly prayed and listened to and read the bible for some time. I kept this Faith to myself but have recently decided to be more open about it and advised others to embrace God, repeated some of Jesus quotes to others.

There comes a time in a man's life when he is mature and wise enough to show who he really is even as ironically society seems to shun or express a bias/disinterest in religious pursuit.

 

[St_Worm2]

I want to evangelize badly, especially to my familiy i realize God exists and without him we are on our own without a future and unsafe, and the worst far away from our creator, and that there a lot of dangers in this world, but at the same time i feel kind of unworthy and not capable, and that my life is not an example of an victorious christian, so other people would say you preach about God but your life seems worse than mine or something like that, i need to overcome a lot of stuff right now.

Hi NBB, family and close friends are tough (or they often can be, for me anyway), so great patience, both with them and with the process of leading them to Christ, is always advisable.

As far as being a good example for others to see, that helps (of course), but the only thing that is truly necessary for witnessing (in particular) is, first and foremost, 'being saved' (having/knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord). If you truly know and love the Lord, then you have something (a relationship with the living God) that others desperately need hear and know about, yes? So, go and tell them! (not about what you don't know, but about what you do know/have experienced .. about God, His word, the faith, His great love for you, including the patience and kindness that He continues to show you, even today, what your life was like prior to knowing Him and what it's like now that you do, and how they can know Him too, if they want to, etc.).

I believe that praying before, during and after witnessing is of the utmost importance too.

Finally, most of us have a lot of growing in Christlikeness ahead of us, so a person living a truly victorious Christian life can be pretty hard to find and/or to achieve personally. However, the important thing (for witnessing) is actually less about living a perfect (sinless) Christian life, and far more about living a penitent one (knowing/trusting that He will continue to love us, and forgive and cleanse us of the sins that we sometimes commit as believers when we use the remedy that He has provided us with .. e.g. 1 John 1:9).

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - here's another quote from Dr. Pink that speaks to some of this.

 

[food4thought]

Hi Michael, the obstacles for me are many, but nothing has been/is more of a problem than my people-pleasing "old man" nature

The loving others part always came pretty easy for me, until I finally admitted that loving someone as a Christian, particularly an unbeliever, cannot be done apart from the truth that they so desperately need to hear, but often don't want to (IOW, both the Gospel AND the bad news too).

So, I'm still a work in progress. That said, some of the things that have and continue to help me with this obstacle include posting here, as I believe that doing so has helped me become a better/more willing/regular witness in the real world

Growing in the knowledge and understanding of God, His word, and of the faith has been very helpful too (I don't think that you need to be a scholar, but it does help to not only know what you believe, but why you believe it (and that at least well enough to be able to explain it clearly to others when necessary).

On the other hand, I can't recall how many times in the past that I've had to tell people something like this, "You know, that's a great question, but I'm pretty new to the Christian faith and your question is one that I don't know the answer to yet I'm sorry to say. However, it's one that I'd like to know the answer to myself, so please let me check with my pastor and I'll get back to you as soon as I do". Interestingly, no one ever turned me down, so I never hesitate to tell people the truth, even today, if I don't know or am unsure of the answer to a question that I'm asked.

Finally, I have begun to use Greg Koukl's approach to witnessing/evangelism whenever possible, which pretty much amounts to asking leading questions to help people figure things out for themselves (rather than just feeding them answers). I also approach witnessing as a planter or waterer of seeds, rather than always hoping to be a reaper/the person who leads someone all the way to Christ, which seems to make witnessing/evangelism easier and less intimidating (at least for me it does).

You've probably read it already, but in case you haven't, here is Koukl's book on the topic.

View attachment 327369​

​

Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions Kindle Edition by Gregory Koukl (Author), Lee Strobel (Foreword)​

​

There's more to discuss, but I'll stop here. I hope that this is the kind of thing that you were looking for/wanting to discuss in this thread, but if not, please let me know!!

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - I find this quote both interesting and important, but few others seem to sadly. Do you agree with Dr. Pink, or do you think that he missed the mark somehow with this one? Thanks again

View attachment 327370​

Thank you for the honest and insightful response! I've never read the book; I'll have to check it out. As for the Pink quote, I think there is some truth to it... but without being able to put my finger on it, I feel something isn't quite right about it. Maybe it's due to the fact that hell is almost never mentioned anymore. It's true that being saved from sin AND its consequences is what the gospel is all about (well, it's all about Jesus Christ, but you understand what I mean), but I've never tried to separate the two things in my discussions with nonbelievers, they are two sides to the same coin. Many carnal Christians are walking around, for sure, and he definitely has a point there, but he seems to indicate that they are not saved, which I'm not sure we can say with any certainty.

----------------------Edit---------------------
The Pink quote in your answer to NBB speaks to my concern about judging proffessing believers, thanks

 

[food4thought]

I don't know if I evangelize.per se, but I had quietly prayed and listened to and read the bible for some time. I kept this Faith to myself but have recently decided to be more open about it and advised others to embrace God, repeated some of Jesus quotes to others.

There comes a time in a man's life when he is mature and wise enough to show who he really is even as ironically society seems to shun or express a bias/disinterest in religious pursuit.

I can relate, friend. Thanks for being so open about your struggles to share consistently.

 

[food4thought]

I don't know if I evangelize.per se, but I had quietly prayed and listened to and read the bible for some time. I kept this Faith to myself but have recently decided to be more open about it and advised others to embrace God, repeated some of Jesus quotes to others.

There comes a time in a man's life when he is mature and wise enough to show who he really is even as ironically society seems to shun or express a bias/disinterest in religious pursuit.

Thanks for responding, peacefulseeker. I just wish we could combine the maturity that comes from years of walking with the Lord with the energy and enthusiasm of being a new believer.

 

[St_Worm2]

Many carnal Christians are walking around, for sure, and he definitely has a point there, but he seems to indicate that they are not saved, which I'm not sure we can say with any certainty.

That could make for a very interesting side-topic discussion

I agree that we cannot be certain of a believer's heart, including our own (or of the heart of someone who 'claims' to be a believer, but is not), but surely there are things that all of us can look at in our lives (and/or in the lives of others) to have the assurance that we truly are who we claim to be .. or that we are not, yes? We are, in point of fact, commanded to do so, yes .. 2 Corinthians 13:5?

The Pink quote in your answer to NBB speaks to my concern about judging professing believers, thanks

We must never be judgmental and condemning of others, but are we not called to be discerning of other's needs for their good (especially if we have reason to believe that they may not be saved, even though they claim and may even believe themselves to be)? If you truly believe that someone may be CINO (Christian In Name Only), how could it be considered a loving thing to not point out your concern to them (and the reason why you have it)?

Thanks

--David

 

[IoanC]

Matthew 5:

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify you your Father which is in heaven.

 

[1Tonne]

p.s. - I find this quote both interesting and important, but few others seem to sadly. Do you agree with Dr. Pink, or do you think that he missed the mark somehow with this one? Thanks again

View attachment 327370​

I find this a good quote. We need to concentrate more on the sin rather than hell. The reason being is that our sin is in stark contrast to Gods character. Our sin is what God hates. Hell is only going to be our consequence if we continue in our sin. So, show the unbeliever their sin and that they fall short of Gods standard and then tell them of the consequences. After this, they will be wanting to run to the cure. That is Jesus.

Assuming you are here on this particular subforum because God has moved your heart to spread the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ, I want to know: what were the biggest factors in leading you to share your faith on a regular basis? What were the biggest obstacles in your heart, and how did you overcome them? I'm trying to motivate myself to be more evangelistic, and your reasons may help me as well.

The first thing is belief.
We all believe to veering degrees. The more someone believes, the more they will want to tell others of Jesus. So, pray that God strengthens your belief.

Second is Love
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39
If you truly love the Lord your God with all of your heart, then you will want to obey him. Also, if you truly love your neighbour as yourself, then you will not want them to be condemned. That would be terrible thing for them to end up in hell when you could have told them the good news.
“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands” (1 John 5:2–3).
Jesus commanded us to go and share the Gospel to all of creation. By choosing not to do it, we are disobeying our Lord. If we disobey Him, are we truly loving Him?
A great quote from Ray Comfort is, "If you are fearful to share your faith, don’t pray for less fear, pray for more love." So, more love for God, so that you will honour Him with your life and more love for the lost, so that you may have boldness to speak the Good News.
It has been said that the gift of evangelism is not that God has given a great gift of speech, but a great love for the lost. This love drives you and it helps you to overcome your fear.

Hindrance to sharing.
I had been a believer for 27 years, but I always had something holding me back in my Christian walk. That was sin. I had an addiction to looking at wrong things on the internet. Even though I believed, I still did this. This addiction became the thing I thought about the most, not God. And so therefore, God was not at the forefront. My mind was set on things of the flesh, and I was just fooling myself by saying that I was saved because I believed in Him. But I had not truly repented.
Romans 8:5-6 says "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace."
Then one day, God showed me my sin once more, and this time, I knew I was not to muck around. God showed me in a way that really shook me to my core. It shook me so much that people commented that they could see a change in me. So, I left this sin. When in habitual sin, you feel as though you cannot do anything for God. In reality, if you are in habitual sin, then you have not really truly repented. That is turned the opposite way. So, for those of you who are in habitual sin, leave it and do not fool yourselves.

Once I had left this sin, my mind was constantly thinking about the goodness of God. His great love and great mercy for us. I also wanted other people to know that they could be saved too but I did not know how to do it. I did not know how to approach people and then bring up the subject of God. So, I looked constantly on the net at people sharing and street preaching. After watching for months (many hours a day) and learning some apologetics, I finally wrote down, word for word, what I would say (mostly Ray Comfort style). I then memorised it. This took me about 3 months of constant practice each day because I wanted it to become natural to me.
What I wrote down, was a technic that I use, but I do not have to do it word for word now. It has become more natural to me, and so often, I do veer off the script. So, do not be afraid to write it down and practice. Even the most well-known street preachers like Ray Comfort says that he will practise what he is going to say. Most great street preachers do not just become great preachers overnight, they need to practise like an athlete. Many hours of practise. And your love for God and the lost, will drive you to do this practice.
Once you start, others will see and then they will be encouraged by you. They too will think, I can do that as well. This is actually, what I believe the gift of evangelism is. We are all called to evangelise, but the gift of evangelism is when other believers see what you are doing, they are encouraged by it. You may also tell other believers to share the Gospel. This too is building them up.
So, the way I look at it is, we are to evangelise the lost, but the gift of evangelism is for the equipping of the saints and building up of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-12 says, "And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ." This 5-fold ministry is for the equipping of the saints.

Here is a link to what I say:

The Great Chocolate Evangelizing trick - This works.

I have been trying to find easy ways to approach non-believers and then tell them the Gospel. I personally find going up to a stranger and saying the full Gospel very scary. I read on this forum about a challenge where the stranger must name all the 10 Commandments in 60 seconds. If they get...

www.christianforums.com

Here is a link to a thread that is also very good. It is worth reading right to the end.

Are you going to let people die?

This morning I was thinking of John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What is the result of belief in regard to telling people the Gospel? If you truly believe, then you are going to...

www.christianforums.com

 

[1Tonne]

Just looked up a good vid to go with what I said. Watch it to the very end as the last few seconds have some good words.

 

[food4thought]

That could make for a very interesting side-topic discussion

Yes, it could.

I agree that we cannot be certain of a believer's heart, including our own (or of the heart of someone who 'claims' to be a believer, but is not), but surely there are things that all of us can look at in our lives (and/or in the lives of others) to have the assurance that we truly are who we claim to be .. or that we are not, yes? We are, in point of fact, commanded to do so, yes .. 2 Corinthians 13:5?

I think there are many people who don't know their own heart very well. I myself had the witness in myself very strongly, yet doubts and fears, along with a good bit of suffering, have dulled that witness in my heart. I believe, but I don't KNOW like I once did. I've been praying over this a lot recently, and I trust that God is going to resolve this.

We must never be judgmental and condemning of others, but are we not called to be discerning of other's needs for their good (especially if we have reason to believe that they may not be saved, even though they claim and may even believe themselves to be)? If you truly believe that someone may be CINO (Christian In Name Only), how could it be considered a loving thing to not point out your concern to them (and the reason why you have it)?

Thanks

--David

I think we all have sin, and pointing out others sin, while we have sin ourselves, is hypocritical and against what Jesus taught (Matthew 7:1-6). But if someone is doing harm to themselves and especially others, of course we should say something... we just have to be really careful to examine our own lives, and speak gently out of a motive of love, not anything else. There'd have to be very compelling evidence for me to suggest someone isn't even saved. JMO

 

[1Tonne]

I think there are many people who don't know their own heart very well. I myself had the witness in myself very strongly, yet doubts and fears, along with a good bit of suffering, have dulled that witness in my heart. I believe, but I don't KNOW like I once did. I've been praying over this a lot recently, and I trust that God is going to resolve this.

I evaluate myself often (daily). To do this, I use Romans 8:5-6 as a standard.
"For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace."
So, I question myself. What do I think about most? Is it the things of God? Or am I more interested in something materialistic or just something exciting that will waist my day. If it is other things, then I have to re-evaluate what I am doing in my life. What do I do with my spare time? What am I looking at? Who do I spend the most time with? How often do I read Gods word?
If I am starting to think of worldly things more, it is normally because I have not been reading my bible enough. I may have been looking at Christian videos on the net, but I may have been neglecting to read Gods word.
In saying all this, I do understand that we have other obligations. We do need to keep focused while working and we do need to spend time with the kids (just make sure it is not too much). So, it is more the downtime that I evaluate.

I think we all have sin, and pointing out others sin, while we have sin ourselves, is hypocritical and against what Jesus taught (Matthew 7:1-6).

We do all have issues with sin every now and then. Even our thoughts can make us sin (Matthew 5:28).
The question should be, is it habitual sin? Is the sin one that we are continuing in, or did we sin and then feel remorse, and so then turned from it.
If it is habitual sin, it can also be dangerous, as it can consume your mind (lust). Though there are habitual sins that people may not even notice that they are doing until someone points it out (coveting).
So, we need to evaluate ourselves. If we are in habitual sin, then our testimony of the Gospel will become weak. It is a bit like, if 2 people went to court as witnesses. One was a prostitute, and the other was a teacher. Who would have more credibility? The teacher would as their profession is not one that has compromised morals. A teacher can be trusted while a prostitute's word is compromised. So, do not compromise what you speak by acting in a way that you should not.

But if someone is doing harm to themselves and especially others, of course we should say something...

All sin in one way or another is hurting others. That is why the over-riding commandments are to Love the Lord your God with all your heart. And love your neighbour as you love yourself. If you love your neighbour as you do yourself, then you would not steel from them, lie to them, hate them or take their spouse.

There'd have to be very compelling evidence for me to suggest someone isn't even saved.

When I go to the parks and tell people the Gospel, if I see someone, I know is a church goer, I ask them if I can practice sharing the Gospel with them. So, I still share the Good News to believers. This way, the church goer will go through the good person test to see if they fall short of Gods standards, and then I get to tell them the good news. If they did not fully understand previously, then they may do so now. If they already understood, then they have just helped me to sharpen how I share the Gospel. Iron sharpens, iron.
We do not know people's motives for coming to church. Are the coming for friendship or have they come under the mercy of God? I know as a young man, one of my main motivations would have been the ladies.