You Are Not the Only One

What is evangelism?

We say things like ‘my hope is built on nothing but Christ.” ( Zechariah 3:1-5). But then we, The Church, are ready to pick a leader based on one single political thing, abortion is just that. Then we throw the rest of who and we are and what Christ tells us to be away. Really? are we called to “fix” Congress or to take the Gospel of Jesus’ love to the entire world?

1. To every single people group.
2. To share the love of Jesus Christ with any person who will listen to our voices, read or text messages, and post into social media.
3. To reach out to the poor and destitute, to meet them at the point of their physical need, and then to meet them at the point of their spiritual need. Why did Jesus feed the people first? (Matthew 14-Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6-Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9-Luke 9:12-17; John 6-John 6:1-14). Would they have been able to hear what He was sharing when every muscle in their bodies was starving for nutrients? I don’t think so.

If being a proud American Evangelical Christian means:

1. We ignore the pleas of the poor, for hopes that we receive more of the pie.
2. We ignore the people who have become poor in the fight for their physical existence.
3. We ignore the call to live to fight as much for the living as we do to fight for the yet to become dead [abortion], then, we cannot be called Christians who are evangelizing like Jesus. “The Rock, His work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4). We must be willing to fight for all people. He told us that we “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, and please the widow’s cause,” (Isaiah 1:17). That is what we focus on that is what we include in our evangelism. God is just it is part of His character. Are we not called to be as just as He is? Are we not called to be like Jesus? Where did Jesus go to evangelize?
   • Luke had a great focus on Christ evangelizing to the outcasts. Society didn’t care about them.
     • The Leper – Luke 5: 12-16 – a Godly healthcare solution.
     • The Paralytic – Luke 5:17-26 – another Godley healthcare solution.
     • Levi the Tax Collector – Luke 5:27-32 a redeemed public servant and social outcast. Tax collectors were considered the scum of the earth [ they were dishonest – during the ancient near eastern period of time.
     • The Sinful Woman – Luke 7:36-50
     •  “Legion” the Demoniac – Luke 8:26-39
     • The Lost Son – Luke 15:11-32 Remember that BOTH sons were lost. Not just the one who went off and spent all that he had on riotous living.
4. Are we not called to demonstrate that Justice when we evangelize others? Yes, it is the simple things that open the door to people being willing to listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The unsaved do NOT care if we can exegesis scripture. But they do care if we are compassionate. Evangelism cannot begin until we can demonstrate compassion.
5. Are we not called to use the power of our vote to show the world that God is for them NOT against them? Evangelism brings with it many misconceptions. The biggest misperception is the role of believers as it pertains to evangelism.  Although the Bible states that God does the calling, He uses believers to tell the story in a personal, relational, and intentional manner.  When our lives reflect hate and we – The Church – becomes the purveyors of misinformation we blacken the waters of evangelism. We basically take the kernel out of the center of the seed that makes it reproduce and we plant duds. Have you ever tried to plant seeds? It can be a messy process. I am a gardener, so I know from personal experience that it can get messy, but the labor is worth it when the first flower blooms or the first tree produces fruit.
   • Believers are not responsible for “saving” people. Understanding that this scripture is as alive today as it was when it was first penned, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV) will eliminate many of the misconceptions/misperceptions regarding the gospel and the act of evangelism.

I don’t want to be called an evangelical if it means I must be any of the negative things that are detailed above.

Is it possible for us to evangelize others because we are actually living lives that demonstrate God’s level of justice? YES.

How about evangelizing by doing this? “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute,” (Psalm 82:3). Servant evangelism is a “thing”, we can die on the hill for that. method of being Jesus to others. Mc Raney speaks about servant evangelism as a reality (William McRaney, The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a Changing Culture (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2003), 34-35,). Political evangelism is a mask that we put on to fit into the ruling powers that be or may want to be. Did Paul do that?

Feed the poor: Evangelize

In the last 4 years, the people in poor states who no longer qualify for USDA Food assistance has grown. Do we care if they end up homeless and under a bridge somewhere? We – The Church, appears to have decided that we will die on the hill of abortion? But we will NOT die on the Hill of loving our neighbors as ourselves? Matt.22:34-40 If we want to die on a hill it should be the one that tells us that we should ask ourselves the question, “How can we say we love God but hate our brothers? 1 John 4:20

• What about the conditions that have been created to foster the disproportionate representation of Blacks and Hispanics incarcerated in our nation’s prisons? Let’s die on that hill.
• What about the disproportionate representation of Blacks and Hispanics being arrested for crimes in the USA? Let’s vote for people who will stop that! Psalm 89:14 speaks about “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.” Let’s preach and teach about that.
• How about having Government officials who care for all members of society in the USA without isolating a state because it is Democratic. Black run, or otherwise? “³ Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. ⁴ Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4.)
• Are we – The Church – ready and willing to tell the world that we want to be a religion that discriminates against its people and will only vote for people in Congress who are going to support our beliefs? What happened to “the purity of evangelism?”
• Because if we are, a time will come when we will be in the minority, and the laws that we change now, to ensure that one religion rules over another will flip the script on us. Governmental interference in matters of religious beliefs is NOT what this country is all about? Why did our ancestors come to this country in the first place? RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, yes I know that some of our ancestors didn’t have a choice and were sent here for other not so publicly know reasons, but the majority of them came here to flee religious persecution.

Now we want to make sure that we put persons in positions who are willing to take away a right that GOD gave to all of mankind? THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE LIFE OVER DEATH comes only from GOD – HE ALONE HAS THAT RIGHT.

It is going to take the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit to change what we have done to make the word “evangelism” a toxic minefield 😦 Even, so let it be done, Lord Jesus. Evangelism is a part of the “gospel process’ NOT a political process of suppression.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

We cannot force evangelism on others, or choose people to bully others into making that choice. How presumptuous of us. Here are some of the things that children in this nation are facing EVERY SINGLE DAY; are we fighting for them too?

Let’s evangelize freedom from childhood oppression. Adverse childhood effects: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/index.html

Evangelism is about being obedient to God’s call on our lives to share the joy we have in our souls with others. It is about being Jesus to all people everywhere, regardless of their belief systems. It is not a theological construct to be studied. But it is a commandment of Christ to be lived. Share your story – it is as simple as that. It is as effective as that. It is as meaningful as that.