Title Desirable Personal Evangelism/Acts 8:26-40
Desirable personal evangelism/Acts 8:26-40
(Introduction) Broadly speaking, there are two methods of evangelism. One is public evangelism and the other is individual evangelism. Public evangelism is proclaiming the gospel to a large number of people with two or more people, and individual evangelism is a method for individual members to share the gospel with each other and believe.
However, according to statistics, only 30% of people gain faith through public evangelism, but more than 70% believe through personal evangelism. Therefore, it can be seen that individual evangelism is the most effective evangelism method.
Then, how is personal evangelism desirable?
(一) You need to know in advance about the evangelism target.
There is a saying at the very beginning of the Sun Tzu's Warfare Act that says 'If you lose, you will win 100 battles. This saying means “If you know your enemy and know yourself, you can fight a hundred times and win a hundred times”.
The Lord also said, "And when a king goes to fight another king, will he not sit down first and consider whether ten thousand can resist the man who comes with two hundred thousand? If not, he must send a dead body while he is still far away and ask for peace." You did. (Luke 14:31-32)
This saying means that those who know the other person and know the self can predict the outcome, so no matter what they do, they will not fail. The same goes for conduction. If you want to evangelize to your co-workers, you have to get close with them.
In verse 30, he asked, "Philip ran and heard that the prophet Isaiah was reading, and said, Do you understand what you are reading?"
This means that Philip the Evangelist is interested in the Bible verses being read by the eunuch of the Ethiopian Queen Gandage. Then the eunuch, knowing that he understood his question, gladly let Philip get into the carriage. (verse 31)
He was ready to listen with humility. So, when Philip preached the gospel, he finally went down and was baptized in water and was saved. Therefore, the evangelist must carefully observe the person to be evangelized, find out what he likes and what is his top interest, and actively use it for evangelism.
Also, if an evangelist knows that there are things that the target of evangelism hates, it is best not to do such things. Just because it's a good word, you shouldn't say it blindly. There are people who can do it and people who can't.
A word spoken with good intentions can actually hurt or even repulse the listener. For example, when you go to a temple while you are alive and preach to someone whose parents have died, you should not say, "There is nothing more foolish than going to a temple. If you go to such a place, you will not escape eternal punishment in hell."
(二) Be prudent and wait for the right time.
We should not be in a hurry just because we have a missionary purpose. If you blindly preach the gospel, you will be kicked out of the mission field immediately. Before we say that we believe in Jesus, we must give and give unconditionally. The expression “believe that I will give you this” actually closes the door of evangelism.
Therefore, as the Lord loved and sacrificed unconditionally, we should give unconditionally and be prudent. If we wait patiently, we believe that God will surely open up good opportunities for us. When we are careful, careful, and considerate of others, we open the door to that heart and accept the gospel easily.
But today's generation is not like it was then. If you shout 'Jesus Heavenly Church, Hell of Disbelief' on the subway or on the street, more people find it very offensive. "That Jesuit doesn't even know public order? Why is the whale screaming?" and scornfully.
After all, today, it is easy to be turned away from the church as a group of strange people who do more reckless things than that do virtuous things.
Of course, 'Jesus Heavenly Church of Unbelief Hell' is the cry of truth. However, no matter how much truth is presented, it is easy to offend people when the approach is not refined.
This is the meaning of what the Lord said to the evangelists, "Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Mt 10:16)
This does not mean that I am opposed to street evangelism or celebration evangelism. What you need to be careful of when doing such things is not to shout out loud just because you have a burning heart, but carefully and carefully study the method, seize the right opportunity, and evangelize wisely.
Even when doing individual evangelism, you need to immediately identify the person's psychological state and find the best time to talk with him.
Even if such an opportunity does not come your way, you must learn to pray and wait for the right time without rushing. If you are too hasty, you can mess things up. Of course, evangelism is a battle for fire and wages. But we need to learn the patience of a farmer if we want to bear fruit more abundantly.
A farmer who sows seeds in a paddy field waits for the autumn harvest. Less than a day or two after sowing, the farmer does not dig to see how much has sprouted. We too should sow the seeds of the gospel and have an attitude that knows how to wait for the right time.
Philip the evangelist went to the wilderness under the direction of the angel of the Lord, and there he saw a chariot riding on a eunuch with great authority in charge of the treasury of Kandace, the queen of Ethiopia. However, they did not come in contact with the Holy Spirit's instruction to "go near in the chariot", and acted cautiously and waited until the eunuch said, "Get into the chariot and sit down with us."
When the eunuch read Isaiah 53: Messiah's Prophecy and asked, "I beg you, to whom did the prophet refer? Is he referring to himself or to others?" Jesus was finally delivered. (Acts 8:32-34)
(3) We must take good care of our faith until it takes root.
You must have experienced a case where you worked hard to evangelize and took him to the church at the best, but sooner or later, that person did not come back to the church.
But when you ask them why they don't go to church, most people answer, "It's not fun." This should be seen as a case of the loss of a soul due to neglect of attention.
Evangelism does not end with just filling in the digits. It is to lead one soul to fully accept Jesus Christ, become a child of God and a member of the church, and live a life that fits that spiritual status.
However, our members today forget this fact and focus only on letting them go. Also, even though we know that fact, there are many times when we say we don't have time as an excuse.
Therefore, I ask that you always treat the person who received the evangelism in a friendly manner and take care of the spiritual and physical problems until they confess their faith. Just because you put that person in the hands of a clergyman, minister, or shepherd, you shouldn't lose interest.
Saints! If you have evangelized an individual, spiritually you are that person's parents. What parent wouldn't worry about their child for even an hour? Especially when it comes to newborns. A mother will always be by her side, constantly caring for, touching, and changing her over and over again.
(Conclusion) It should be the same way that we evangelize one soul. It is no different from a mother giving birth to a child and not taking care of it if she leaves it unattended, believing that it will grow well after evangelism. Therefore, we hope that the person who leads the church will take care of it and take care of it until it is mature enough.