Sharing The Gospel
By Kevin Burrows, Senior Pastor
Vision Worship Center, Inc. – Columbus, Ohio
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2, New International Version). These are the beautiful words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was concerned about the harvest of souls that had not heard the gospel. Jesus was eager to share the gospel message with them, but there was a shortage of workers. Jesus encouraged the seventy-two witness that he sent out two by two to pray to God the Father for more workers that will assist them in sharing the gospel.
Christians Biblical motivation to share the gospel of Jesus Christ should be based on the scripture referenced above, and the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (28:19-20, New International Version). Jesus departed His disciples with these final instructions. They were being sent into the world under His authority; they were to preach the gospel; make disciples of men, and teach them to obey Christ.
This is still the great commission of every born again believer today. If Christians are going to be effective in the Kingdom of God they must place emphasis on evangelism. Evangelism is the vehicle used to plunder hell and populate the Kingdom of heaven. When sharing the gospel with others, Christians should follow the example of the Apostle Paul and keep the message simple and basic, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4-5, New International Version). It’s important to note that having an extensive scholarly vocabulary doesn’t mean the message you share will be effective, but rather when the power of the Spirit of God accompanies the message, it is then you will notice that judgment and conviction is swift, but when the message is void of His Spirit judgment and conviction is delayed.
It’s unfortunate, but not everyone will believe the gospel, however, that doesn’t give Christians the right to avoid their responsibility to share it. Some would rather be driven and lured by their own lustful desires, not to mention, the god of this age has blinded their mind so that they won’t comprehend the gospel, (“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”) - II Corinthians 4:3-4, New International Version.
The love of God must compel every believer to share their faith and experience with God the Father to those that don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Are only motive for evangelizing should be to win souls to the Kingdom of God and nothing more, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us…” (II Corinthians 5:20, New International Version). .
When we pursue others for Jesus, it’s important to make sure our motives are pure, “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill” (Philippians 1:16, New International Version). The person that is preaching the gospel out of goodwill is doing so out of pure love for Christ and His passion to save a dying world, whereas, others teach the gospel for selfish gain, building their own reputation such person will not receive the eternal reward anticipated.
Christians should remember that the angels of heaven celebrate significantly when a person accepts Jesus Christ into their heart, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10, New International Version). Shouldn't every Christian also rejoice? We should weep over every soul that’s lost. We should pray that God will send more workers to gather in the harvest of souls. Let us evangelize purely out of love for God and our efforts will be rewarded.
When it comes to sharing the gospel, the words that stick out to me the most are “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few”. It is true that there are so many people out there that need to hear the message of Christ. Often times I believe that it is the most difficult because some don’t know where to begin or have that fear of being rejected. However, while reading this message it came to me that when reaching out to someone all it takes is saying hello. It is by love and kindness that we were drawn and this is the same way that we will draw others.
ReplyDeleteI must say that evangelizing to others has been a challenge for me but it is my goal to just start reaching out by saying hello. A lot of the time the answer to how are you is usually the same, “I am good” but I am going to press with the help of God to truly tap into what people are facing. We are here for one another therefore we must have compassion when it comes to those who are lost, broken, and confused. Through our actions and how we live, people will begin to want to know the God that we serve. My desire is to be used by God and what better way to do it than drawing the lost into the Kingdom.
Excellent!
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ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to sharing the gospel, the key thing to remember is share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each and every assignment as a Christian is to go out and make disciples! It is unfortunate that many Christians choose to abandon their assignment leaving a harvest of to be to be picked by few. On the other hand it does not give an excuse to the few not to share the gospel.
ReplyDeleteWe are commanded to share the word of God with everyone that we come in contact with, and this needs to be done with pure motives. We are to make disciples not with our own fleshly wisdom or fancy words and charisma but with the power of the Holy Spirit that is carried by the love of God. It is my prayer that I get out of my flesh and operate under the anointing and direction of the Holy Spirit. That I carry out my assignment and make disciples in all the land and equip them to go out and do the same thing so that the Kingdom of God has the workers in the field to collect the harvest.
great
DeleteThis was a great reminder that God has not saved us and us alone, but there is a dying world out there and so many who do not have a relationship with God. Some who have never heard about Jesus Christ. As we are given the opportunities to teach and spread the Gospel it should not be for selfish reasons at all but be a vessel used to save others from the fire and for the glory of God.
ReplyDeleteI have heard it said many times before, that it is so important for Gods anointing to follow your ministry and all that you do for God. Lately, I have witnessed and experienced the difference between charisma and the anointing on someone’s life. Charisma, will wow a crowd but truly no change takes place in the hearts of Gods people. On the other hand, the Anointing of God will cause the atmosphere to change and the hearts of people are changed, and blinded eyes are open leaving the devil exposed and defeated. I feel that many preachers, teacher, and anyone who shares the word of God should get so familiar with the word but even more seek God for divine revelation so that we have the right understanding of scripture and how it applies to our lives. It’s not enough just to know scripture but it is vital that we have a personal and intimate relationship with the father. We must be like David having a heart for God, the people of God, and devoted to doing his will.
In order to be effective and productive in witnessing to others we need the Holy Spirit to accompany us just as he did the disciple as they went out in Acts. It was always a demonstration of Gods power and the anointing of God on the lives of the Apostles and disciples. In order to see God move like he did in Acts we must have a love for the Gospel and a heart for loss souls, understanding that he gives us the power we need to be effective not so it can lay dormant in our lives. We are to be the salt of the earth, the city on the hill the lamp on the table, declaring the message of Christ our savior, not teaching a word of our own but the words inspired by the Spirit of God. Having the right motives, in the beginning of Acts, a man who did sorcery where Peter was preaching, healing and delivering demon possessed people, he thought to himself that he could purchase the Holy Spirits power that Peter operated in and was rebuked for such wicked thinking. We have to be so careful not to do anything for God or I should say for your own name sake but it should be for the Glory of God. Remaining in God will keep you humble and teach you how to walk in step with Spirit of God and live a life totally surrendered to God.
"we must have a love for the Gospel and a heart for loss souls," - Excellent point.
DeleteWhen i read this i think about What our a Pastor said before that we should be a walking bible. Their are alot of people out there that will never go to church building but they will talk to you and as Christians we should be a 24/7 365 walking church built on God's Word. We are all called to spread that gospel but how can we spread what we dont know thats why its important that we keep our focus on God and not on our own gain because we cant be effective praeching and teaching out of our own knowledge. We need God's power and knowledge to be effective in our everyday lives and when we are talking to people about Gods Word. If we decide to not go out and spread the love of God by sharing his Word their will be souls lost never knowing God because we decided to stay and not Go!! God tells us to go because their are so many souls to be saved and so many people lost and if we dont teach the Word and speak up we abandon the calling that God called us to.
ReplyDeletegreat!
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ReplyDeleteI think that the blog post is very accurate. I think that when it comes to the life the of Christian we all must realize that preaching the gospel is how our souls were saved. Unless we learn to continue doing so souls cannot be won for the kingdom of God. We must make a constant effort to continue the work of Jesus Christ everyday.
ReplyDeleteIt should bring joy to our hearts to know that the same message that reached us can reach others. When we get compelled like Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5 we will become a church that can't be stopped. In think one of the most major keys is Christians falling so in love with Jesus that they feel like they have to talk about Him.
For example, two people that are truly in love don't mind expressing their love for one another in the presence of other people. They will proudly and open profess that they love each other and why and aren't ashamed to love them for those reasons. Why? Because they know them and are intimate with them. When you know someone well enough no one can change your mind about how you feel about them because of your experience with them. I feel that in our expression of love for Christ should be the same.
Yep
DeleteThis was an awesome article, very accurate and true!I agree with everything stated and it has encouraged me as a leader in the Evangelism ministry, the comment that stuck out to me was "It’s unfortunate, but not everyone will believe the gospel, however, that doesn’t give Christians the right to avoid their responsibility to share it." Sometimes I become discouraged thinking that no one wants to hear the gospel or no one will ever come to church and believe like us from my experience of witnessing to soo many people with few results; but it's important that I remember and understand that it's the work of the Holy Spirit that draws them to Christ and it has nothing to do with me or how I feel but I must be obedient and do the work of God in spite of little or no results because there are people out there ready to hear the gospel and God & angels rejoice for that one person that accepts the gospel message you give to them!
ReplyDeleteThis was an awesome article, very accurate and true!I agree with everything stated and it has encouraged me as a leader in the Evangelism ministry, the comment that stuck out to me was "It’s unfortunate, but not everyone will believe the gospel, however, that doesn’t give Christians the right to avoid their responsibility to share it." Sometimes I become discouraged thinking that no one wants to hear the gospel or no one will ever come to church and believe like us from my experience of witnessing to soo many people with few results; but it's important that I remember and understand that it's the work of the Holy Spirit that draws them to Christ and it has nothing to do with me or how I feel but I must be obedient and do the work of God in spite of little or no results because there are people out there ready to hear the gospel and God & angels rejoice for that one person that accepts the gospel message you give to them!
ReplyDeleteOne plants, another person waters, but God gives the increase.
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