Title: Let's Open the Door to Evangelism
Let's open the door of evangelism
Goal 4:2-6
The world is going down these days.
Politics, economy, culture, society, religion, everything is falling.
Somehow, it is becoming decadent like the castles of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Movies, plays, novels, comics, and television all of them are working together to corrupt the world.
The world is becoming a world where children cannot be raised with peace of mind.
Usually not a concern.
We have a responsibility to guide dark societies into bright light.
Because the Lord said, 'Be a light in your world.'
How to deal with the dark world?
There is no other way.
You have to believe in Jesus to live. You cannot live without believing in Jesus.
So we must preach this gospel.
That's what ability is.
The word power means great power, mighty power, irresistible power, infinite power,
Furthermore, it is a word for the fullness of possibility, which expresses some superhuman power.
God revealed His power to all mankind through the atoning death of His Son Jesus on the cross.
This was not the power of creation or governance, but the power of saving sinners.
This atoning death and resurrection power on the cross was the greatest power that God Himself showed to mankind.
“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.
It is the power of God to us who are being saved; the message of the cross is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
This message of the cross is called the Gospel.
The gospel is said to be the power of God. The gospel is said to be the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).
This promise was repeated just before the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:5, 8).
Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
That promise was finally fulfilled to the disciples who were praying with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
Finally, the word preached through the mouths of his disciples came to the people with power.
The crowd who heard the word of evangelism hit their hearts and repented and received Jesus Christ.
The number of the crowd increased to three or five thousand.
This was the so-called birth of the first church, marked by the return of Jesus Christ into the world.
Therefore, that power soon became the very existence of the church.
The church is a gathering of people who profess Jesus Christ as their Savior.
This great work of confessing Jesus Christ as Savior can only be done by the work of the Holy Spirit Himself.
The power of God, the power of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit are the very existence of the church.
In other words, the church is not in man itself (words or wisdom), but in the power of God.
Therefore, the church of God is not the product of man, but the product of God's power.
In this sense, the church has its life in divine power.
1 Corinthians 2:2 "Because I have determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 "My words and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in the manifestation and power of the Holy Spirit, that your faith might not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, the apostle Paul teaches us that Corinth was a very notorious city in the Roman Empire.
It was a port city, a city with a lot of money, a lot of boaters, and a lot of trade, and it was a city with serious moral problems.
It is a place where people's sense of ethics is rare.
It has become a hotbed for all kinds of crime.
In addition, because of its religious nature, people who worshiped other gods lived in the city.
Therefore, it is a city of darkness and spiritual darkness.
In this very low quality morally and spiritually dark city, Paul visits the city where people who have never heard of the name of Jesus Christ live.
To testify of Jesus.
Everyone,
What power can you use against them?
How do I preach the gospel to this great city?
Every time I think about it, I confess my shortcomings.
After that, Paul says that what is essential for evangelism is the manifestation and power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:4, “My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but only in the manifestation and power of the Holy Spirit.”
This is not something people do.
Therefore, one of the essential things when evangelizing is the power of the Holy Spirit.
We need to long for the power of the Holy Spirit a little more and be armed with that power.
The Holy Spirit worked in Christ to raise Christ from the dead.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who gives authority to us as witnesses and to us who carry the Gospel.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God that makes those who hear the gospel through us confess that Jesus is Lord.
The Holy Spirit works on those who hear the word to open their hearts and confess Christ.
We must long for this grace of the Holy Spirit.
One of the ways to long for the grace of the Holy Spirit is to pray.
According to the Bible, there is no one who has longed for the power of the Holy Spirit and has not prayed.
Paul knelt on the cold stone floor of a Roman prison and prayed that the saints in Ephesus might be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
The 120 disciples, who were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come, gathered in the upper room and prayed together with one mind until the Holy Spirit came, filled them and gave them power.
Only those who pray receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, we must also pray.
Paul says in Ephesians 6:18, 19:
Ephesians 6:18 “With all prayer and supplication, praying in the Holy Spirit continually, watchful for this, always making every effort to ask, asking for the sake of the saints…”
Ephesians 6:19 "And for me, my prayer shall be, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mysteries of the gospel..."
"With all prayers and supplications, pray always in the Spirit. Make all prayers and supplications. Pray without ceasing, but pray in the Spirit constantly. For this, keep watch and always do your best to ask."
How important is prayer?
We all need to pray.
When you pray, God's amazing works will happen.
Neutralizes the power of Satan.
Prayer dispels darkness.
Prayer binds the powers of evil spirits.
The Holy Spirit works when we pray.
And today's text testifies to this.
Colossians 4:2 “Be steadfast in prayer, watchful in it with thanksgiving”
Colossians 4:3 "Pray also for us, that God may open the door for us to preach, that we may speak the mysteries of Christ; for this I am bound.
Colossians 4:4 "Then I will reveal this mystery by the words I ought to speak."
The Apostle Paul in today's text is asking us to pray so that we can open the door to evangelism because we can't do evangelism in our own strength.
When the gospel is witnessed in this way, amazing things happen.
We are nothing, but if we take this Gospel and go out praying and preaching, the Holy Spirit will
As we work with the cross of Jesus Christ, amazing things happen in the hearts of those who hear.
The men's and women's evangelism group is starting today at Saejungang Church
All of this cannot be done on my own.
You have to deal with it with the power of God.
You can also receive strength from God's power through prayer.
Dear saint!
John 4:35 "Do you not say that the harvest will come in four months? I say to you, lift up your eyes and see the fields; they are white for harvest."
Let's look to the Lord who is looking for workers because there are many grains for harvest but there are no workers.
And I will become a servant of the Lord and lead the salvation of souls that God uses to revive the church and become all the saints who carry out God's great work.
Looking at God's power to accomplish all these things, I hope that God will use me to accomplish God's work by always striving to pray.
Amen.