Evangelizing And Making Disciples Is The Number One Task Of The Church

sermonindex Aug 23, 2013

According to the Chinese rural underground Church witnessing, evangelizing and making new disciples is the number one task of the Church. Their cry to go and make new disciples is backed up with their very lives. In many cases if they speak to the wrong person about Jesus, they face prison, torture and even death. The task of sharing the Gospel is for every Christian, even if they give their life as a martyr. Chinese Christians teach us that when their seed (their life) has gone into the ground and died it will multiply and produce much more fruit.

With their blood new growth is coming. The seed, their body that died now produces 100 fold, 1000 fold or even more.

When we consider that the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents

we know that God’s heart is touched and He rejoices also. Modern Christians say: No, the number one task is to worship and love God. The answer: Then show how much you love and worship Him by doing. Witness and give joy to the Father. There are many excuses: I don’t have the gift to witness, witnessing is for the pastor and missionaries, I don’t want to upset people, I want to respect other religions, I don’t know the Bible enough, what will the people think of me, and I am not an extremist.

All are lies from Satan, the world and our own sinful flesh.

We don’t trust God that He will help us and empower us. Please read the promise in Acts chapter 1 verse 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.” If you feel you cannot speak out, would you be willing to give out a tract? We are providing various simple tracts to be printed and accessed on the Gospel Fellowships website.

from: http://gospelfellowships.net/principles-book/

S

Sree Aug 24, 2013

This article is not consistent at all. When talking about Chinese church, both word and life are used to represent seed but in the end only word and gospel tracts is mentioned as evangelism.

Street preaching, going from house to house evangelism, giving gospel tracts in streets are certainly important but they are not the only calling or they are not common calling to all believers. One needs a burdened heart to proceed in such work. Reading such articles or listening to sermons that criticise you for not doing such tasks cannot bring such burden. I personally do not believe that such works can even be spoken in sermons.

The author of this article has not meditated on acts 1:8 enough. Here jesus talks about our being itself as a witness for his existence, not just our words or gospel tacts. Being a personal life witness of Jesus is a common calling for all believers. God has placed me in a personal circle like my job, family, relatives, church etc. among them my being itself should be witness to Christ. I may not give them a tact or forcibly share gospel to them, but my still win their soul for god. This is called personal evangelism. We all have this ministry.

Which is easy, to stand and give some papers in the street or to be a personal witness in all situations? Holy Spirit is given for us to empower us to do the impossible thing by flesh.

A

ArthurRosh Aug 24, 2013

I agree that criticizing others for not evangelizing will not bring the burden for them to evangelize although it can bring conviction to those who are saved and who are grieving the Spirit and thus lead to repentance. We must lead by example also.

In addition I think handing out papers or tracts is a most wonderful ministry, one that is highly pleasing to the Lord Jesus and an example of the foolishness of God that is wiser than men in that even papers can be used to save souls for eternity. I believe in personal evangelism just as much as tract distribution and both are used by God to save sinners. I believe it becomes unbalanced when we single out one over the other.

There are even souls in the midst of the church who participate in evangelism who may not even be saved and whom the Lord saves in the process of their participation in witnessing. Evangelism then can be just as much evangelistic to those who are being reached as to the ones doing the reaching. This of course is a small minority although we must never limit the Lord in the way in which He works.

sermonindex Aug 24, 2013

I do not see the Apostles dying martyr deaths by just trying to be holy in their daily lives amongst the heathen. I have actually never read any martyr account in church history where the martyr just smiled and acted holy. All martyrs were killed including the 12 apostles for speaking the message of the Gospel to lost men and women.

Towards the article quote about life and seed. What the context for that statement is, is that once the Chinese House Church brethren preach the Gospel verbally and then get killed for it then their life becomes seed and a testimony of the Gospel.

In the Acts of the Apostles we see the example of preaching the Gospel verbally. So evangelism was primarily this way. This does not negate the necessary element of living holy in daily life and being an example to others.

Our Lord Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

There is nothing more spiritually deep about the Great Commission and Acts 1:8 then to preach the same Good News by the Holy Spirit than the Apostles did.

Our Lord said that if we simply do not speak His Name before others He will not mention our name before the Father.

S

Sree Aug 24, 2013

Now I understand what this article meant by using life and seed together. O was wrong calling it inconsistent. It is plainly biased to a certain kind of ministry.

Like I said, I have great respect for those who have burden for the loss. But I do not believe that everyone is required to stand in street reaching out the lost. The apostles did that because they had the responsibility to spread the word. But there was always Paul who sowed and apollos who watered in the church. Both of them together raised up disciples in church. Just by giving tracts and standing in streets we can never raise up disciple. May be if apollos read this article he will be condemned for watering instead of planting!!!

Jesus himself did not do a ministry for first 30 years of life. There were people going to hell but he did not preach a word to them. He continued demonstrating the nature of god. He waited patiently for god to give him a ministry and burden. Jesus spoke about confessing his name before men, I can confess his name by my life, by taking up the cross and denying things that will defile his name. I can also confess his name by sharing my testimony gladly before men when asked for. Giving tracts is not the only way to confess!!!

Stephen was martyred for the signs and wonders that god was performing through him. For his life witness that the jews could not tolerate. He was not martyred for giving tracts or reaching out to the lost.

sermonindex Aug 24, 2013

But there was always Paul who sowed and apollos who watered in the church. Both of them together raised up disciples in church. Just by giving tracts and standing in streets we can never raise up disciple.

Dear Brother, Paul preached the word and shared his testimony the Jesus was the Son of God and only way to heaven. Paul saw it needful to raise up disciples in the church I fully agree with this. But he expected that these disciples would obey therefore the commands of Jesus Christ which is in part to speak the Gospel to others.

Stephen was actually martyred by verbally testifying that the people were the Church of God and that God resides in the hearts of men not in old religious systems of men. He spoke of the Christ promised before in the Scriptures and preached the Gospel to them.

Handing out tracts is a passive way of verbally proclaiming the Gospel. It is obviously better to speak it with words from a true walk with the Lord.