Evangelism

1:23The gospel is good news, and it's good news that should be shared. We call that evangelism, sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. And I wonder what comes to your mind when you think about evangelism. Because experience tells me as a pastor that if you're a Christian, when you think about evangelism, you probably feel some combination of guilt and fear. You feel guilty because you don't share your faith in Jesus as often as you should. And you feel afraid because you think about the fact that if you were to share your faith with someone and the good news of Jesus with someone, that they would be upset with you.

2:10But let me ask you this. Do you really believe that the gospel is good news? After all, that's what the word evangelion means. It means gospel or good news or good tidings. So this morning, we're continuing our journey back to the basics of the Christian life. And it's hard to get a whole lot more basic than evangelism. Because without evangelism, without someone coming to us and sharing the good news about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, we can't even begin the Christian life. So evangelism is about as basic as it gets. Evangelism is declaring the good news. It's not advice.

2:58It's not a call to try harder to do better. To keep God's law, it is the news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It is announcing that and calling people to respond with repentance and faith in the person and work of Christ. But for many of us, I think we've come to view evangelism as a burden, as a duty, as a responsibility, not as a joyful privilege. So, my hope today is that God would remind us through Philip's story in Acts chapter 8 that the gospel is good news of great joy for all people, and it's our joyful privilege to share it.

3:44Now, before we jump in here to Acts chapter 8, let me remind you about what Jesus told his disciples right before he ascended into heaven. Take a look at Acts chapter 1, verse 8 on the screen. Jesus said, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. The book of Acts traces the expansion of the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and then to the end of the earth.

4:17And where we're at in Acts chapter 8 is that the gospel has been announced in Jerusalem, it's made its way out into Judea and Samaria, and this is the point where it begins to expand to the end of the earth. So, here in verse 26 of chapter 8, Luke records an angel of the Lord speaking to a man named Philip. And we meet Philip first back in Acts chapter 6, where he is described along with six other men as a man who is full of the Spirit and wisdom.

4:48And he is appointed to serve as one of the first deacons in the church. Now, Philip was a great evangelist. And when persecution drove many believers out of Jerusalem, they preached the word of God throughout Judea and Samaria. And friends, I think that's such a great reminder for us this morning: is that the Lord uses persecution. He uses our trials and sufferings to accomplish his purposes in us and through us in the world. And I think we are so conditioned to look at our suffering and our trials only through the lens of what inconveniences, what pain it brings to us. But remember that in Scripture, every time suffering, trials, persecution are talked about, they're talked about as things that God uses for his good purposes. And without that persecution that came to Jerusalem, the Christians who were there who knew the gospel may never have spread to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, and they may never have taken the gospel with them. So I just want to start off by reminding you guys today that God intends to use your suffering, your persecution, your trials for his glory, because we have been disciples. By our culture, every time we encounter suffering and trial, to do exactly what the world does and complain about it. But what an opportunity we have to witness to the hope that we have in Christ, to our coworkers and classmates, that when they see us going through hard times, instead of complaining, we say to them, Yes, this is a hard thing, but I believe that God has good purposes for it in my life, and my hope is in Christ. My hope is in Him. My hope is not in my circumstances. What kind of witness do you think that is to a world that only knows how to complain about trials and suffering?

6:37So trials and suffering comes, and the gospel goes out with these believers that are scattered outside of Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria. Take a look at Acts chapter 8, verses 5 through 8 on the screen. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds, with one accord, paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.

7:13I want to leave that up there for a minute. Philip was a great evangelist. He may very well have had the gift of evangelism that Paul mentions in his letter to the Ephesians. What I want you to focus on here is that when Philip shared the good news, he brought the words. Brought much joy to that city. Much joy. The gospel is good news that brings great joy. We're about to enter into the Advent season here in a few weeks where we start talking about Christmas. And if you're familiar with that story, you know that when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were keeping watch over their flock by night, what did the angel say?

7:54I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. That's what the gospel is. It is good news of great joy. I don't think that Philip shared the gospel wherever he went because he felt like he had to. He shared the gospel wherever he went because he believed that it was good news of great joy. It was his privilege to share it. He believed that it was good news. And you always want to share good news.

8:26So at this point, Philip may have still been in Samaria, but I think according to verse 26, it seems like he's back in Jerusalem. And that angel of the Lord appears to him and tells him to go south on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. So this is a road that runs southwest out of Jerusalem. It goes about 60 miles to this old Philistine town named Gaza. And Gaza was the last stop. This is the last buckies before miles and miles and miles of desert.

8:56So if you don't get water here, you're not going to get it for a really long time. Long time. So just think about this for a second. Philip is a gifted evangelist. He is preaching in the city, and he's seeing tons of people come to faith in Christ. And then God appears to him and says, Philip, I want you to go out to the styx. I want you to go out to the middle of nowhere to this desert place.

9:22I think that's such an amazing thing because it calls to mind the parable of the lost sheep that Jesus talks about in Luke 15, where the shepherd in the parable is willing to leave the 99 to go in search of the one lost sheep who's in need of rescue. Some of you know about being the lost sheep because you've been at that place in your life before. You've been in that place where you were wandering around in a spiritual desert, far from God, far from God's people, and God came and found you right where you were.

10:00He didn't stand back at a great distance with his arms crossed, waiting for you to come back to him so he could give you a lecture about how bad you were and about all the wrong things that you did. No, he came to find you like a shepherd looking for the wandering and lost sheep. He went to you while you were still in your sin, while you were still disobedient, while you weren't doing anything good worthy of being found and saved. God came to you because that's what he does. That's who our God is. He's a rescuing and saving God.

10:34And friends, God is looking for some of you this morning. That is why you're here today, so that you could hear the good news of the gospel. You could believe it and be saved. So Philip heads south on this road, and sure enough, at some point, here comes a chariot. And not just any chariot, but this is a chariot carrying a very important and powerful person, the treasurer of the nation of Ethiopia. Luke notes at the end of verse 27, take a look there.

11:10This Ethiopian had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. According to Psalm 68 and Jeremiah 38, the Jews had dealings with the nation known as Cush, which is Ethiopia, both before and after the exile. And so it is entirely likely that this person's family was Jewish, or at the very least, that they had become converted to Judaism, and they are now God-fearing people. At any rate, he's almost certainly not a Gentile because in Luke chapter 10, Cornelius and his family are presented as the first Gentile converts. So he's either Jewish or a Jewish convert, but he's a Jew. He's definitely devout, and that much is clear from the fact that he is willing to travel hundreds of miles across the desert to go to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. It's evident from the fact that he has a copy of the scroll of Isaiah to read. I mean, remember, books were hard to find. They were very expensive. And yet he's acquired a copy and he's diligently reading it. And so the Holy Spirit appears to Philip and says, go over and join this chariot. And when he does, he hears this man reading aloud, as was customary in those days, from the book of Isaiah.

12:41And how awesome is this? I mean, we don't know how far Philip had to walk down that 60-mile road. We don't know if he had to wait 15 or 20 minutes, or if he had to wait hours in the heat, or if he was out there for days, the text doesn't say. But if he had any doubt as to whether he heard the angel of the Lord correctly, as soon as this chariot rolls by and this guy is reading the book of Isaiah, it's very clear to him that God has sent him here. This is an amazing, God-given opportunity. And friends, I think for a lot of us, we read about these things in scripture, and sometimes we think, man, I wish God would tell me exactly where to go and exactly who to share my faith with. I wish I had opportunities like this.

13:31But you know what? You have these opportunities all the time. All the time. If we believe that God has commanded us to make disciples of all nations by proclaiming the gospel, the good news of Jesus, and if we are praying regularly for opportunities to share our faith, then doesn't it follow that God is going to regularly answer our prayers by giving us opportunities to share the good news of Jesus that he commands us to share? I think so.

14:04Just as God placed Philip on this deserted road so he could encounter this Ethiopian official, God has placed you in your home, in your neighborhood, in your class, in your office, so that you can share the good news of Jesus with the people around you. God has led you there for a reason. You may never have an angel tell you exactly what to do, but believe me, God has led you exactly where you are to use you for his purposes.

14:42Let's pick up now in verse 30. So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, Do you understand what you are reading? And he said, How can I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. I want you to imagine for a second here that you are this Ethiopian. You fear the Lord and you make these long pilgrimages to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. You've got a copy of the scriptures. You believe that they're the word of God, but you don't understand what they mean.

15:22So you are reading and rereading. You are thinking and praying hard, hoping to understand what Isaiah is talking about, hoping that someone would come along to come and explain God's word to you. And the next thing you know, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the desert, a man runs up from the side of the road and says, Do you understand what you're reading? How do you think that the man asks the question that he asks? What kind of emotion do you think poured out of his voice when he said, How can I unless someone guides me?

16:04This man has gone to such great lengths. He's so devout that he asks for weeks off of work and he pays to take this long journey to worship at the temple. He pays for a scroll of Isaiah and he reads it devoutly. How long do you think he's been waiting for this moment? How eager do you think that he is? See, church, I think that we forget here in America what a gift it is that we have the Word of God and we have pastors and teachers to explain it to us.

16:46Because in so much of the world, they don't have the Word of God and they don't have any pastors or teachers or Christians to explain it to them. You go to places like China and they can get the Word of God, they can get it online, they can even get copies. It's hard, but you can do it. But there are very few teachers, very few people to explain it to them. You go to places on the continent of Africa, and there's a lot of teachers. They've heard the gospel, they've been taught this or that, but a lot of the rural, poor areas, they don't have the Word of God. We have both. We have the Word of God and pastors and teachers to explain it to us. What a gift that we have.

17:24So the treasurer invites Philip to join him in the chariot, and Philip discovers that he's reading what we call Isaiah 53. And this is one of the greatest passages in scripture about the suffering servant who would save his people from their sins. So I want you to look at verses 34 and 35 now, right after he quotes from Isaiah 53. Here's what the eunuch says: About whom I ask you, does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else?

17:56Wouldn't it be great if it was always that easy? Or somebody just asks you straight up, I'm reading the Bible. Can you help me understand what it means? That would be awesome. Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. Friends, the good news about Jesus is news. It is the message that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled all of the prophecies about the Messiah who would come and deliver us from our sin and its consequences through his sinless life, death, and resurrection. That's what Isaiah is talking about. He is the one who came like a sheep to be slaughtered, to lay down his life in our place for our sins. He didn't open his mouth before Pilate. He didn't open his mouth in protest on the cross. He went silently without protest, because he laid down his life willingly for you and for me.

18:55Justice was denied him. Jesus never did anything wrong, nothing deserving of death. And yet, he allowed injustice, great injustice, the greatest injustice that's ever been committed. He allowed that to be done to him so that we would not have to suffer eternally for all of the real injustices that we have committed against God and against our fellow man. He is that suffering servant. And so, when we present the gospel, that news of Jesus' sinless life, death, and resurrection, The content of the message never changes, but the presentation of the gospel does. The way that we share the gospel has to be tailored to fit the audience that we're talking to and the particular questions that they are asking. And that's what we find all throughout the book of Acts.

19:52You go to the book of Acts, you find that the gospel is almost never presented in the same way twice. The content of the message is always the same about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, but the way that it's presented is always tailored to the questions that the people are asking. So, a couple of examples. In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit has filled the disciples as Jesus promised that he would, and they are now all speaking in other languages that they never learned. And the people who are around them hear them declaring the glorious works of God in these languages that they never learned. And what is the question that they ask?

20:32What's going on here? Are these people drunk? So, what does Peter do? He starts right there. He says, these people aren't drunk as you suppose. This is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel in chapter 2, where God promised that he would pour out his spirit on all men. They would prophesy and see visions and dream dreams. And this is a fulfillment of that prophecy to show you that the Messiah has come. That Messiah is Jesus, and he shares the good news of Jesus from that point.

21:06In the very next chapter, chapter 3, Peter and John are going to worship at the temple. And as they're walking toward the temple, there is this lame beggar, and Peter turns to him and says, In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise and walk. And all these people see this, and what is the question that they're asking? How did these guys heal this man? Was it by their own holiness? Was it by their own power? So Peter preaches and he says, do not think that it's by our own holiness or power that we made this man walk. It's because Jesus of Nazareth came to heal you spiritually that we are able to say to this man, rise and take up your mat and walk. It's just like what Jesus did in Mark chapter 2 with the paralyzed man. He told him when his friends lowered him into the house, your sins are forgiven. And everybody was like, who can forgive sins? Nobody can do that but God alone. And he's like, well, so you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins, I say to you, take up your mat and go home. It was proof that Jesus was who he said he was, that he does have the power and authority to forgive sin.

22:19So all throughout the book of Acts, this is what you see. The Philippian jailer in Acts 16 is wondering why Paul and Silas didn't run away and escape when they could have. The Athenians are wondering. Why Paul worships just one God instead of many gods, including an unknown God? The Ephesians are worshiping why Paul doesn't worship Artemis like the entire world does. In every example, these Christians begin with the questions that people are asking. They start there and then they share the message of Jesus from that point.

22:53And so, friends, that's our calling: to answer the questions that people are asking and point them to the person and work of Christ. I think after getting the content of the gospel message right, maybe James has the most important counsel for us in evangelism, and that is be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Too often, Christians are known for getting into arguments with people instead of being quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Because, see, when people feel like projects, when we talk at them without listening to them first, we've all been in that position before where you feel like someone is talking at you instead of listening to you. That happens in high-pressure sales situations. What is the goal of the salesperson? It's to get you to make a decision and buy the product as quickly as possible. Whether we're talking about selling cars or timeshares or essential oils or non-essential oils.

24:00We're sharing the message of reconciliation. We're not trying to get them to sign on the dotted line as quickly as possible. And what that means is we need to listen carefully to understand what questions they're asking before we begin to share the gospel with them in response to those questions. To do what Peter talks about, to give a message, a reason rather, for the hope that is within us with gentleness and respect. But I think some of you are probably thinking, you're a step ahead here, and you're thinking, well, Pastor Alan, that's great, but none of my friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates are asking me about the meaning of Isaiah 53.

24:46In other words, they're not really asking spiritual questions. So what do I do now? I think that's a great question. And I think that's going to be the case for lots and lots of people in this room today. That many people in your life that you know that are not Christians, they're not asking spiritual questions. Not out loud, anyway. And that's because, for the first time in American history, we are dealing with a generation of people that has been raised in a secular culture.

25:23And this generation of people that's been raised in a secular culture thinks that they already have answers. To these spiritual questions. Why are we here? We evolved from primordial soup. Life has no purpose or meaning other than the ones that we assign to it. How should we live? However, you want to, as long as you don't think that you're doing harm to anyone else, because there is no God and there is no moral law that applies to everyone.

26:00What happens when we die? Nothing. You just cease to exist. So you need to try to get as much out of life as possible. See, the secular culture already thinks they have answers to all of these spiritual questions, so they're not going to ask those spiritual questions. What that means is we have to flip the script. And instead of us offering answers to their spiritual questions, we've got to offer questions to their spiritual answers. I want you to look at this quote from Tim Keller. This is in his book, How to Reach the West Again.

26:46Helping non-Christians recognize they have a problem that requires salvation will mean questioning people's answers even before the more traditional apologetic method of answering people's questions or objections about Christianity. By people's answers, we mean the working answers to the big questions of life that everyone must have. No one can live without meaning, satisfaction, identity, forgiveness, given and received, resolution of moral questions, and hope for the future. The culture's ways to provide these things ultimately will not work.

27:32Our friends are probably not going to come to us with spiritual questions because they think they already have the answers to those questions. So instead, we have the great opportunity to go to them with questions to their spiritual answers. Because whether they know it or not, whether they consider themselves spiritual or not, they have spiritual answers, but they may have the wrong ones. This Ethiopian treasure was a different person from a different culture. He was a religious person from a religious culture, and he did have spiritual questions, just like some of the people that you will encounter from time to time in your life. And so let's pick up in verse 36.

28:24And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is what. Water, what prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized them. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azetus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

28:57Friends, the Word of God is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. This Ethiopian man never met Jesus. He didn't see a single miracle. He didn't have a vision or a dream. He simply read God's Word. Philip explained it to him and showed how Jesus was the fulfillment of those prophecies, and he was saved. He was transformed forever by simply reading and understanding and believing the Word of God. So we cannot lose sight of that. All of the evangelistic strategies and tools in the world cannot change the human heart. But the Word of God can do it. The Word of God is powerful to raise the dead to life.

29:53So when they come to this body of water, the man asks to be baptized, so Philip goes down with him into the water and baptizes him. And then the Spirit carries him away. And what that means is that the evangelist is gone. But the evangel, the good news, that lived on in the Ethiopian's heart. So when he made his way back to Ethiopia, what do you think he was eager to do? What do you think this man who was poring over the scripture and was so devout that he traveled to Jerusalem and he spent all that time, effort, and energy and money to do those kinds of things? What do you think he did when he got home? He shared that life-changing good news with his family and friends. I'm sure of it. Because the gospel lives on, even when we, those who share the gospel, we will not live on. Either because we move away or people that we've shared it with have moved away or because we die. But the gospel lives on.

30:52And Philip finds himself at Azetus, and so what does he do? He preaches the gospel there and in every town he comes to until he gets to Caesarea. Again, not because he felt like that was his obligation, but because he was eager to share this good news with anybody who would listen. Friends, if you're a follower of Christ, I want to ask you to go back to that question that I asked you at the beginning of the sermon.

31:24What comes to your mind? What do you feel when you think about evangelism? Is it guilt? Is it fear? I think that many of us have viewed it as a duty, as a burden, as an obligation rather than a joyful privilege. So I want to encourage you to view the gospel as the good news that it is and that it is as presented in Scripture. Good news of great joy for all people. Because that's what's going to lead us to share it. You always want to share good news. And so maybe we have a hard time sharing the gospel because we've lost sight of the fact that it really is good news.

32:15I want to encourage all of you to come back tomorrow night at 7 o'clock, 7 p.m. tomorrow night. We've got this event called Equipped to Evangelize. And I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not leading it. I'm going to attend as a learner. Because, guys, I need help with evangelism, just like you. And so I hope you'll join me tomorrow night at that event. If you're here and you're discouraged in your evangelism, we've got this little green book. It's called, What if I'm Discouraged in My Evangelism?

32:56I'd encourage you to pick up a copy. You know, one of the simplest things that you can do is just invite someone to worship. Do you know that nearly all of the research that's ever been conducted about churches and why people attend worship shows that most people come to worship for the first time because someone invited them? According to Tom Raynor, four out of five unchurched non-Christians would come to worship if anybody invited them. Isn't that convicting?

33:31We've got these little cards right next to those green books. It's an invitation card to new life. There's a space for your name, your phone number, and which service you attend. I keep these in my wallet, and I just give them out anytime I get into a spiritual conversation when I'm in the community. So, this past Monday, when I was at jury selection for 12 hours, I didn't even get picked. How bad do you have to be to be there for 12 hours and still not get picked?

34:02I gave one out last Monday there. And I just want to encourage you: put those in your purse, put those in your wallet, have them available. Brothers and sisters, the gospel is good news. Like Philip, God puts us in position every day to share that good news with others. We just have to take advantage of the opportunities. Then, for some of you, if you're here today and you're not yet a Christian, I want to ask you if you have. Questioned your answers.

34:35You may have decided long ago that you don't believe that God exists, that you don't believe that there is a moral law that applies to everybody, that you don't believe that there's such thing as heaven and hell. Are you sure? Are you sure? My guess is you would say, No, I'm not sure about that. And to be fair, we could be wrong too. But we have come to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, as he claimed to be, that he lived a sinless life, that he died on the cross, and that on the third day he rose from the grave. We believe that he is who he said that he was, and that if we come to him in repentant faith, if we turn from our sin and receive him, put our trust in him, that we will be given eternal life. We want you to believe that as well, because we think that's the best news that has ever been shared.

35:49And so, if you are there, if you're like, I have answers to these questions, but I'm not sure, if you're even open to talking about that with us, we would love to talk to you about that. And so, please find someone. To talk to. A Christian you came with, one of the leaders here at our church, come up to me. We have all sinned against God, who created us to know Him and enjoy Him forever. That's the bad news. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

36:23You can be saved today. You, a lost sheep, can be saved today by coming to faith in Jesus Christ. And so we urge you to put your faith in Him. Let's pray. Father, we pray to you this morning because we need your help. I think so many of us have lost sight of the good news of the gospel. We haven't necessarily turned away from it to anything else. We've just come to think of it as bad news: that people are going to be angry when they hear it.

37:25People are going to be frustrated when they hear it. And so, I pray, God, that we would recover the sense that this is good news of great joy for all people. And that we wouldn't be plagued and burdened with the sense that we have to share the gospel because you command it, but rather that we would be eager, excited to share the gospel because we know that Jesus, you are the only mediator between us and the holy God of heaven.

38:04And so, we pray, God, that you would help us to recover that. I pray for any who gathered with us today who've come to believe that they are that lost sheep. I pray that you would come and meet them where they are, that they would call out to you, that you would have mercy on them, and that you would rescue them from their sin and its consequences. We pray that some would come to faith in Christ here today because they have heard the good news of Jesus and believed it.

38:50In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.