Evangelism

[JM]

I'm answering from my phone so I'll be brief.

Your posts are glib.

 

[BryanW92]

I'm answering from my phone so I'll be brief.

Your posts are glib.

I know. I've lost my faith. I was so "on fire" a year ago. Now, I have almost nothing.

 

[JM]

If you have Christ....you have everything.

 

[BryanW92]

If you have Christ....you have everything.

I know. Thats what everyone says.

 

[LordDuncanBurneWilke]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Bryan. I have been there. Prayers to you.

 

[abacabb3]

My wife and I have been doing a lot of preaching to Jehovah's Witnesses. THe demonic character to one of them on one hand greatly saddens me, but also makes me fearful at a profound level. I rarely dream, so rarely I maybe have 2-4 a year that I remember and they are not about anything.

I had a dream that I was preaching to 2 JWs and as I was talking to them, I was following them to an elevator. I had a bad feeling about entering that elevator, but I told myself in my thoughts (in my dream, I don't have inner monologue) I told myself, "Christ will not lose any the Father gives Him, I am assured that nothing bad can happen to my faith."

Thinking this, I walk into the elevator with the JWs and when the door closes the wall of the elevator falls back and Satan jumps out and grabs me. I literally feared, in my dream, if he won the fight I would lose my salvation. Again, that might not be real good theology, but this is a dream give me a break! I yelled terrified, and my wife woke me up. She never heard me terrified in five years. Honestly, I don't think I have ever been terrified like this.

So, the question is what is the point of the dream. My first fear was that God was warning me. Upon reflection, prayer, and speaking to others, I believe that it could be Satan trying to prevent me from being used to bring the true Kingdom to the kingdom hall.

I would appreciate prayers about this, and also prayers for discernment for preaching to Cambodian converts to Watchtower theology. Being that my wife and I have not made any converts, we have spoken to the elders in our Church but have not undertaken any actual teaching, just preaching. If by God's grace God uses us to make Cambodian converts for Him, then this becomes an issue where we would need the blessing of our Elders, as only my wife speaks Khmer in the area and unless they would want to teach with my wife translating, I may be called to teach.

Thanks guys. As for Bryan, I would just say, get yourself out there for His glory.

 

[BryanW92]

So, the question is what is the point of the dream. My first fear was that God was warning me. Upon reflection, prayer, and speaking to others, I believe that it could be Satan trying to prevent me from being used to bring the true Kingdom to the kingdom hall.

....

Thanks guys. As for Bryan, I would just say, get yourself out there for His glory.

What is the glory? You initially thought your dream was a warning to stop, but then you convinced yourself that the thing you wanted to do was what the dream was telling you to do.

I did the same thing. If I listen to my "prayers" I get God telling me to do one thing, then to stop and do the opposite.

 

[abacabb3]

Well, your post is a little combative, but I won't take it personally let me reason with you. In the case of me doing "what I want to do," let me tell you what I really want to do. Eat until I get fat, not work, yell at people that are not nice to me, spend my money on eating out and vacations, etc.

So, the fact that I am willing to put my neck out there and do something that, at a profound level frightens me, is really not me doing what I want to do on one hand. Really, the reason I want to do any of this is because I desire more to do God's will than to do what I want. So I am still doing what I want, I just want one thing more than another (I also don't want to get fat ).

So, the dream is less in my mind of ignoring GOd's will, but trying to discern it. Satan deceived Eliphaz in a dream (Job 4). Yet, God has also spoken in dreams. How do I know what is going on??

Revelation still exists today, but it is not new...it is always consistent with the Scripture. So, I evaluate my dream from the Scripture. Can I lose my salvation? According to the Scripture no. According to the dream, yes. So, where does the dream come from? From Satan, the Father of Lies, or from God?

This is why I have discerned to the best of my ability the dream is demonic and not from God.

 

[BryanW92]

Well, your post is a little combative, but I won't take it personally let me reason with you. In the case of me doing "what I want to do," let me tell you what I really want to do. Eat until I get fat, not work, yell at people that are not nice to me, spend my money on eating out and vacations, etc.

So, the fact that I am willing to put my neck out there and do something that, at a profound level frightens me, is really not me doing what I want to do on one hand. Really, the reason I want to do any of this is because I desire more to do God's will than to do what I want. So I am still doing what I want, I just want one thing more than another (I also don't want to get fat ).

So, the dream is less in my mind of ignoring GOd's will, but trying to discern it. Satan deceived Eliphaz in a dream (Job 4). Yet, God has also spoken in dreams. How do I know what is going on??

Revelation still exists today, but it is not new...it is always consistent with the Scripture. So, I evaluate my dream from the Scripture. Can I lose my salvation? According to the Scripture no. According to the dream, yes. So, where does the dream come from? From Satan, the Father of Lies, or from God?

This is why I have discerned to the best of my ability the dream is demonic and not from God.

It wasn't meant to be combative. I do the same thing! In fact, someone once told me that "if you need to get an answer from God, pray. If you don't get the answer you want, keep praying. He usually changes his mind after a while." That was a pastor.

It's a common thing for American Christians to keep asking until they hear the right answer. So, when does God's answer count?

 

[twin1954]

If God has called you to preach His Gospel He will put you in it and you will not need the approval or permission of men. We should never run where we have not been sent and wait on the Lord to open the door of opportunity to serve Him wherever He puts us. We are to do with all out might whatever He has put in our hands to do and not seek to do that which He hasn't put in our hands to do. If He sends you to preach His Gospel to one single person or a million at one time it is His work not ours.

The fact is that the one who cleans toilets and the one who stands in the pulpit are no different. They are both sinners saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact the one who cleans toilets is greater than the one in the pulpit. Why? Because he does it without recognition and glory. He doesn't call attention to himself or his work.

 

[BryanW92]

If God has called you to preach His Gospel He will put you in it and you will not need the approval or permission of men. We should never run where we have not been sent and wait on the Lord to open the door of opportunity to serve Him wherever He puts us. We are to do with all out might whatever He has put in our hands to do and not seek to do that which He hasn't put in our hands to do. If He sends you to preach His Gospel to one single person or a million at one time it is His work not ours.

The fact is that the one who cleans toilets and the one who stands in the pulpit are no different. They are both sinners saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact the one who cleans toilets is greater than the one in the pulpit. Why? Because he does it without recognition and glory. He doesn't call attention to himself or his work.

If the door you want opened hasn't opened yet, praise God from the hallway.

 

[GQ Chris]

I'm reading an Evangelism book by Will Metzger.

 

[twin1954]

My wife and I have been doing a lot of preaching to Jehovah's Witnesses. THe demonic character to one of them on one hand greatly saddens me, but also makes me fearful at a profound level. I rarely dream, so rarely I maybe have 2-4 a year that I remember and they are not about anything.

I had a dream that I was preaching to 2 JWs and as I was talking to them, I was following them to an elevator. I had a bad feeling about entering that elevator, but I told myself in my thoughts (in my dream, I don't have inner monologue) I told myself, "Christ will not lose any the Father gives Him, I am assured that nothing bad can happen to my faith."

Thinking this, I walk into the elevator with the JWs and when the door closes the wall of the elevator falls back and Satan jumps out and grabs me. I literally feared, in my dream, if he won the fight I would lose my salvation. Again, that might not be real good theology, but this is a dream give me a break! I yelled terrified, and my wife woke me up. She never heard me terrified in five years. Honestly, I don't think I have ever been terrified like this.

So, the question is what is the point of the dream. My first fear was that God was warning me. Upon reflection, prayer, and speaking to others, I believe that it could be Satan trying to prevent me from being used to bring the true Kingdom to the kingdom hall.

I would appreciate prayers about this, and also prayers for discernment for preaching to Cambodian converts to Watchtower theology. Being that my wife and I have not made any converts, we have spoken to the elders in our Church but have not undertaken any actual teaching, just preaching. If by God's grace God uses us to make Cambodian converts for Him, then this becomes an issue where we would need the blessing of our Elders, as only my wife speaks Khmer in the area and unless they would want to teach with my wife translating, I may be called to teach.

Thanks guys. As for Bryan, I would just say, get yourself out there for His glory.

Just for comfort; Adroniram Judson preached in Burma for 7 years before there was even one convert. He was imprisoned and lost almost 2 entire families during his service to the people in Burma for Christ.

Let him be an encouragement to you.

 

[JM]

Amen

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Who should evangelize?

Is evangelism different from witnessing or giving your testimony?

Should the evangelist have a "feeling" or "personal conviction" before evangelizing or should they be approved by the local church and sent?

Personally, I believe the evangelist should be approved and sent.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

Yup!

If we read the Great Commission in context we see that Jesus called, equipped and sent the first evangelists. Jesus was not addressing all believers, clearly, as he mentions teaching and baptizing.

The amount of consternation caused by bad teaching on this subject alone is incalculable.

Glad to be free from that mess. . .

 

[hedrick]

Yup!

If we read the Great Commission in context we see that Jesus called, equipped and sent the first evangelists. Jesus was not addressing all believers, clearly, as he mentions teaching and baptizing.

The amount of consternation caused by bad teaching on this subject alone is incalculable.

Glad to be free from that mess. . .

What do you mean by evangelism? A missionary or formal evangelist is the kind of ministry that I'd think should involve a formal call, validated by a Church. But a lot of (maybe most) evangelism occurs more informally, when people invite friends to church with them or let people know how Christ works in their own lives.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

What do you mean by evangelism? A missionary or formal evangelist is the kind of ministry that I'd think should involve a formal call, validated by a Church. But a lot of (maybe most) evangelism occurs more informally, when people invite friends to church with them or let people know how Christ works in their own lives.

I only mentioned evangelists, not evangelism in my agreement with the OPs last statement regarding them being called and sent.

I'm in agreement with your post, and add that much of informal work is more like apologetics in the post-Christian USA.