PERSONAL EVANGELISM

1
PERSONAL EVANGELISM

• A Role for Christians in the Providence of God

2
Introduction

• It seems as if the members of most churches of
  Christ feel that the preaching which takes place
  in the pulpit totally fulfills their
  responsibility in the area of evangelism.
• This is not the case, however. Christians, as
  well as local churches, have a responsibility in
  evangelism.

3
INDIVIDUALS ARE TO EVANGELIZE

• The Great Commission

4
Matthew 2819-20

• And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All
  authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
  earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the
  nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
  and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
  them to observe all things that I have commanded
  you and lo, I am with you always, even to the
  end of the age." Amen.

5
INDIVIDUALS ARE TO EVANGELIZE

• The Great Commission
• Paul's instructions to Timothy

6
2 Timothy 21-2

• You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace
  that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you
  have heard from me among many witnesses, commit
  these to faithful men who will be able to teach
  others also.

7
INDIVIDUALS ARE TO EVANGELIZE

• The Great Commission
• Paul's instructions to Timothy
• The example of first century Christians

8
Acts 81-2

• Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that
  time a great persecution arose against the church
  which was at Jerusalem and they were all
  scattered throughout the regions of Judea and
  Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men
  carried Stephen to his burial, and made great
  lamentation over him.

9
Acts 83-4

• As for Saul, he made havoc of the church,
  entering every house, and dragging off men and
  women, committing them to prison. Therefore those
  who were scattered went everywhere preaching the
  word.

10
INDIVIDUALS ARE TO EVANGELIZE

• The Great Commission
• Paul's instructions to Timothy
• The example of first century Christians
• Proportional responsibility

11
Matthew 2514-30

• "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man
  traveling to a far country, who called his own
  servants and delivered his goods to them. And to
  one he gave five talents, to another two, and to
  another one, to each according to his own
  ability and immediately he went on a journey.
  Then he who had received the five talents went
  and traded with them, and made another five
  talents.

12
Matthew 2514-30

• "And likewise he who had received two gained two
  more also. But he who had received one went and
  dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.
  After a long time the lord of those servants came
  and settled accounts with them. So he who had
  received five talents came and brought five other
  talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five
  talents look, I have gained five more talents
  besides them.'

13
Matthew 2514-30

• "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and
  faithful servant you were faithful over a few
  things, I will make you ruler over many things.
  Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had
  received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you
  delivered to me two talents look, I have gained
  two more talents besides them.'

14
Matthew 2514-30

• "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and
  faithful servant you have been faithful over a
  few things, I will make you ruler over many
  things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' Then he
  who had received the one talent came and said,
  'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where
  you have not sown, and gathering where you have
  not scattered seed.

15
Matthew 2514-30

• "'And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent
  in the ground. Look, there you have what is
  yours.' But his lord answered and said to him,
  'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I
  reap where I have not sown, and gather where I
  have not scattered seed. So you ought to have
  deposited my money with the bankers, and at my
  coming I would have received back my own with
  interest.

16
Matthew 2514-30

• "'Therefore take the talent from him, and give it
  to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who
  has, more will be given, and he will have
  abundance but from him who does not have, even
  what he has will be taken away. And cast the
  unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.
  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

17
INDIVIDUALS ARE TO EVANGELIZE

• The Great Commission
• Paul's instructions to Timothy
• The example of first century Christians
• Proportional responsibility
• Ability

18
1 Peter 411

• If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of
  God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with
  the ability which God supplies, that in all
  things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,
  to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever
  and ever. Amen.

19
INDIVIDUALS ARE TO EVANGELIZE

• The Great Commission
• Paul's instructions to Timothy
• The example of first century Christians
• Proportional responsibility
• Ability
• Opportunity

20
1 Corinthians 165-6

• Now I will come to you when I pass through
  Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia).
  And it may be that I will remain, or even spend
  the winter with you, that you may send me on my
  journey, wherever I go.

21
1 Corinthians 167-9

• For I do not wish to see you now on the way but
  I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord
  permits. But I will tarry in Ephesus until
  Pentecost. For a great and effective door has
  opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

22
2 Corinthians 212

• Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach
  Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by
  the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I
  did not find Titus my brother but taking my
  leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

23
John 91-4

• Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was
  blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him,
  saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
  parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus
  answered, "Neither this man nor his parents
  sinned, but that the works of God should be
  revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who
  sent Me while it is day the night is coming when
  no one can work.

24
Acts 1314-15

• But when they departed from Perga, they came to
  Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue
  on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the
  reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers
  of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Men and
  brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for
  the people, say on."

25
Acts 1316

• Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand
  said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God,
  listen"

26
SUPERIORITY OVER PULPIT EVANGELISM

• The greater number of opportunities
• The multiplicity of teachers
• The power of personal contact
• The fact that a home Bible study lesson can be
  fitted to the needs of the prospect more readily
  than a pulpit sermon.

27
WHY SOME DO NOT EVANGELIZE

• Do not have the word of God in their hearts.

28
Psalm 11911

• Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might
  not sin against You!

29
Jeremiah 208-9

• For when I spoke, I cried out I shouted,
  "Violence and plunder!" Because the word of the
  Lord was made to me A reproach and a derision
  daily.
• Then I said, "I will not make mention of Him, Nor
  speak anymore in His name." But His word was in
  my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones
  I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.

30
WHY SOME DO NOT EVANGELIZE

• Do not have the word of God in their hearts.
• Do not love the lost.

31
John 316

• 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.

32
Romans 101

• Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
  Israel is that they may be saved.

33
1 Corinthians 919-20

• For though I am free from all men, I have made
  myself a servant to all, that I might win the
  more and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I
  might win Jews to those who are under the law,
  as under the law, that I might win those who are
  under the law

34
1 Corinthians 921-22

• to those who are without law, as without law (not
  being without law toward God, but under law
  toward Christ), that I might win those who are
  without law to the weak I became as weak, that I
  might win the weak. I have become all things to
  all men, that I might by all means save some.

35
WHY SOME DO NOT EVANGELIZE

• Do not have the word of God in their hearts.
• Do not love the lost.
• Do not know enough to teach.

36
Hebrews 512-14

• For though by this time you ought to be teachers,
  you need someone to teach you again the first
  principles of the oracles of God and you have
  come to need milk and not solid food.

37
Hebrews 512-14

• For everyone who partakes only of milk is
  unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is
  a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are
  of full age, that is, those who by reason of use
  have their senses exercised to discern both good
  and evil.

38
WHY SOME DO NOT EVANGELIZE

• Do not have the word of God in their hearts.
• Do not love the lost.
• Do not know enough to teach.
• Are over-cautious.

39
Ecclesiastes 114

• He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who
  regards the clouds will not reap.

40
WHY SOME DO NOT EVANGELIZE

• Do not have the word of God in their hearts.
• Do not love the lost.
• Do not know enough to teach.
• Are over-cautious.
• Do not have the same spirit of faith as David and
  Paul.

41
2 Corinthians 413-14

• And since we have the same spirit of faith,
  according to what is written, "I believed and
  therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore
  speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord
  Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will
  present us with you.

Psalm 11610
42
Psalm 11610

• I believed, therefore I spoke, "I am greatly
  afflicted."

43
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE

• He personally called enthusiastic workers.
• Peter and Andrew

44
Matthew 418-20

• And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two
  brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his
  brother, casting a net into the sea for they
  were fishermen. Then He said to them, "Follow Me,
  and I will make you fishers of men." They
  immediately left their nets and followed Him.

45
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE

• He personally called enthusiastic workers.
• Peter and Andrew
• James and John

46
Matthew 421-22

• Going on from there, He saw two other brothers,
  James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother,
  in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending
  their nets. He called them, and immediately they
  left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

47
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE

• He personally called enthusiastic workers.
• Peter and Andrew
• James and John
• Matthew

48
Matthew 99-10

• As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named
  Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to
  him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
  Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the
  house, that behold, many tax collectors and
  sinners came and sat down with Him and His
  disciples.

49
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE

• He personally called enthusiastic workers.
• Peter and Andrew
• James and John
• Matthew
• Two of His greatest sermons were in one-on-one
  confrontations.
• The new birth

50
John 31-2

• There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
  a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by
  night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You
  are a teacher come from God for no one can do
  these signs that You do unless God is with him."

51
John 33-4

• Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly,
  I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot
  see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him,
  "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he
  enter a second time into his mother's womb and be
  born?"

52
John 35-7

• Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
  unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he
  cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is
  born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
  born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that
  I said to you, 'You must be born again.'"

53
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE

• He personally called enthusiastic workers.
• Peter and Andrew
• James and John
• Matthew
• Two of His greatest lessons were in one-on-one
  confrontations.
• The new birth
• The living water

54
John 45-6

• So He came to a city of Samaria which is called
  Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave
  to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there.
  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey,
  sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth
  hour.

55
John 47-9

• A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said
  to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had
  gone away into the city to buy food. Then the
  woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that
  You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a
  Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with
  Samaritans.

56
John 410

• Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the
  gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give
  Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He
  would have given you living water."

57
John 411-12

• The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to
  draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do
  You get that living water? Are You greater than
  our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank
  from it himself, as well as his sons and his
  livestock?"

58
John 413-14

• Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks
  of this water will thirst again, but whoever
  drinks of the water that I shall give him will
  never thirst. But the water that I shall give him
  will become in him a fountain of water springing
  up into everlasting life."

59
OTHER GREAT PERSONAL EVANGELISTS

• Andrew

60
John 140-41

• One of the two who heard John speak, and followed
  Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first
  found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We
  have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the
  Christ).

61
OTHER GREAT PERSONAL EVANGELISTS

• Andrew
• Philip

62
John 145

• Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have
  found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the
  prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
  Joseph."

63
OTHER GREAT PERSONAL EVANGELISTS

• Andrew
• Philip
• All the apostles

64
Acts 541-42

• So they departed from the presence of the
  council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy
  to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the
  temple, and in every house, they did not cease
  teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

65
OTHER GREAT PERSONAL EVANGELISTS

• Andrew
• Philip
• All the apostles
• Philip the evangelist

66
Acts 85-8

• Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and
  preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with
  one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip,
  hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For
  unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came
  out of many who were possessed and many who were
  paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was
  great joy in that city.

67
Acts 89-11

• But there was a certain man called Simon, who
  previously practiced sorcery in the city and
  astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that
  he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed,
  from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man
  is the great power of God." And they heeded him
  because he had astonished them with his sorceries
  for a long time.

68
Acts 812-13

• But when they believed Philip as he preached the
  things concerning the kingdom of God and the name
  of Jesus Christ, both men and women were
  baptized. Then Simon himself also believed and
  when he was baptized he continued with Philip,
  and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs
  which were done.

69
OTHER GREAT PERSONAL EVANGELISTS

• Andrew
• Philip
• All the apostles
• Philip the evangelist
• Paul

70
Acts 2017-19

• From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for
  the elders of the church. And when they had come
  to him, he said to them "You know, from the
  first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I
  always lived among you, serving the Lord with all
  humility, with many tears and trials which
  happened to me by the plotting of the Jews

71
Acts 2020-21

• how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but
  proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and
  from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also
  to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward
  our Lord Jesus Christ.

72
WAYS AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Visit prospects where they are.

73
Acts 910-12

• Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus
  named Ananias and to him the Lord said in a
  vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am,
  Lord." So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to
  the street called Straight, and inquire at the
  house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for
  behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has
  seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting
  his hand on him, so that he might receive his
  sight."

74
Acts 913-14

• Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from
  many about this man, how much harm he has done to
  Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has
  authority from the chief priests to bind all who
  call on Your name."

75
Acts 915-16

• But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen
  vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles,
  kings, and the children of Israel. For I will
  show him how many things he must suffer for My
  name's sake."

76
Acts 917

• And Ananias went his way and entered the house
  and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother
  Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the
  road as you came, has sent me that you may
  receive your sight and be filled with the Holy
  Spirit."

77
Acts 918-19

• Immediately there fell from his eyes something
  like scales, and he received his sight at once
  and he arose and was baptized. So when he had
  received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul
  spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

78
Acts 2212-16

• "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according
  to the law, having a good testimony with all the
  Jews who dwelt there, came to me and he stood
  and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your
  sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him.

79
Acts 2212-16

• "Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen
  you that you should know His will, and see the
  Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For
  you will be His witness to all men of what you
  have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting?
  Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins,
  calling on the name of the Lord.'"

80
WAYS AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Visit prospects where they are.
• Invite them into your home.

81
Acts 181-3

• After these things Paul departed from Athens and
  went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named
  Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come
  from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because
  Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart
  from Rome) and he came to them. So, because he
  was of the same trade, he stayed with them and
  worked for by occupation they were tentmakers.

82
1 Corinthians 1619

• The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and
  Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with
  the church that is in their house.

83
Romans 163-5

• Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in
  Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my
  life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also
  all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet
  the church that is in their house. Greet my
  beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of
  Achaia to Christ.

84
WAYS AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Visit prospects where they are.
• Invite them into your home.
• Take them aside after services.

85
Acts 1824-25

• Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at
  Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the
  Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been
  instructed in the way of the Lord and being
  fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately
  the things of the Lord, though he knew only the
  baptism of John.

86
Acts 1826

• So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.
  When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took
  him aside and explained to him the way of God
  more accurately.

87
WAYS AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Visit prospects where they are.
• Invite them into your home.
• Take them aside after services.
• Talk to them at work during break or lunch.
• Always be on the lookout for opportunities.
• Remember authority ability opportunity
  responsibility.

88
Conclusion

• We need to ask ourselves "Do I know anyone who
  might go to hell if I don't teach them the
  truth?"
• More than likely, we will answer, "Yes." If so,
  we need to be teaching someone.
• God has provided for the salvation of souls by
  giving His Son.
• But He has given us the responsibility of taking
  the gospel to the lost.