Born in the Heart of God
Chapter 3 The Omission Of The Evangelist
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Chapter 3 The Omission Of The EvangelistChapter 4 The Call of the EvangelistHOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE CALLED TO BE AN EVANGELIST?Jesus was an evangelist. Luke 8:1-2 Soon afterwards He was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching (keerússoon) and evangelizing (euangelizómenos) the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him… Jesus evangelized showing that the work of an evangelist is in the main, the doing of the work. Luke 20:1-2 One day as He was teaching (didáskontos) the people in the temple complex and evangelizing (euangelizoménou), the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came up and said to Him: "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Who is it who gave You this authority?" Evangelizing will draw anger from religious people who are in control and leave God out of their lives. Jesus is the greatest evangelist of all. Of all the gifts that God gave to the church, only a handful are said to be given by the Lord Jesus, Himself. These are found in Ephesians 4:11. Among these is the evangelist. This gift will remain until time ends and eternity begins. The purpose is to mature and up build the church. In this instance, the gifts (dómata Eph 4:8) are the men. Christ personally gives these men to His church. In order to do so Jesus saves and calls them. This implies that such men will be very close in fellowship with their Lord.
“Paul tells us that when Christ ascended on high, "He himself gave [to the church] some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers" (cf. Ephesians 4:11). These words suggest that the evangelist is a gift to the church and that he, as an individual, possesses the evangelistic gift, which is both a natural endowment and a spiritual enduement. Let me amplify these two concepts for a better understanding. a. The gift of the evangelist is a natural endowment. Christ himself "gave some to be… evangelists" (Ephesians 4:11, NIV). He knew that the preaching of the Gospel around the world would never be accomplished without the evangelistic gift. It is my observation, however, that this gift is generally entrusted to people who have a natural aptitude to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Timothy 4:5, KJV). b. The gift of the evangelist is a spiritual enduement. When Christ "gave some to be... evangelists" (Ephesians 4:11, NIV), He was imparting a distinctive and dynamic gift. Without a clear understanding of this fact, much confusion and frustration can be engendered in people's minds and hearts. Witnessing is an anointed life style that can lead to a saving commitment to Christ; but witnessing is only a prelude to soul-winning evangelism: it is pre-evangelism. As Dr. Arthur T. Pierson has succinctly put it, "Witnessing is the whole work of the whole church for the whole age." Evangelism, on the other hand, whether in conversation or proclamation, is the harvesting gift. Only a small percentage of the members of a local church possess this gift. It is bestowed by the Spirit at conversion. "The Spirit works . . . these things, distributing to each one individually [the gifts] as he wills" (see 1 Corinthians 12: 1- 11,28). Subsequently, the gift is revealed by the Spirit through inward conviction (Romans 8:14) and outward confirmation (Acts 13:1-4; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6,7).”41 The Spirit filled and Spirit empowered evangelist is recognized by the church and exercises the witness and harvest. For many years my home church has had Vacation Bible School Commencement night on Sunday evening. We always have a large crowd with many guests who are prospects for the church. We had gone for several years with no one responding to the invitation. Our pastor and church had talked about the gifts and it was suggested since I was in the office of the evangelist that I should give the invitation and people would join the church. Because of the belief in the Word of God, that the evangelist is a gift of Christ for harvest there were people saved and others who joined the church by membership. It was a great affirmation to me that my home church recognized the gift. Stephen Olford lists five ways you can be sure you are called to be an evangelist: The answer is not simple, since God does not deal with all of us in exactly the same way. There are, however, certain important questions that we should ask ourselves: 1)Do I meet the qualifications of an evangelist, as set forth in the Word of God? When God called Paul to be an evangelist, He delineated what was involved and required in clear and precise terms, "He is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake." And we read that "immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God" (cf. Acts 9:15,16,20). In another place, Paul was told, "The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of his mouth. For you will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard" (cf. Acts 22:14,15). And again, "Rise, and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me" (cf. Acts 26:16-18). We cannot study these divine instructions without discerning both qualifications and responsibilities of an evangelist. 2) Is there the witness of the Spirit in my heart that God has called me? The same Holy Spirit who witnesses with our spirits that we are the sons of God also witnesses with our spirits that we are called of God to be evangelists (Romans 8:14,16). As we pray earnestly about the matter, "the sense of call" will either come alive or die altogether. You will remember that Paul prayed, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (cf. Acts 9:6), and as we have seen already, he received the answer.42 Over the years I have noticed that the men, who are willing to send out fliers, meet with pastors and do whatever it takes to go fulltime have been the ones who are fulltime. They take any meeting that comes along in their early days and will even go to places where they know it will cost them financially to go because the Spirit of God has made the call as an evangelist so abundantly clear. This burning fire that the Holy Spirit has placed in them allows them to continue against all criticism and hindrance from friends, family and others. Olford continues, 3) Has the gift of the evangelist become evident in my life and service? When the apostle says that "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit all" (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:7), he is describing how a person's gift becomes evident. The "manifestation" is not of the human ability alone, but of the indwelling and power the Holy Spirit. Every occasion of a gathering of God's people is an opportunity for the exercise and ministry of a gift for the profit of all. If I know anything about God working in my life, I know he has his hand on me to give an effective invitation with the power of the Holy Spirit mightily upon me. 4) Has my church recognized and confirmed my evangelistic gift? A careful look at 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6,7 gives a significant object lesson in the divine-human recognition and confirmation of a person's gift and ministry in the earl Church (see also Acts 13:1-4).43 If you are given opportunity to serve in the office of evangelist not only will you see people accept Christ personally and publically, but there will be spiritually minded people in the church who will see the gift in you and pastors will use you. Without others seeing this gift in your life, you will not stay in vocational evangelism very long. Dr. Olford’s fifth question clearly shows that the evangelist has the gift of harvesting and drawing the net. 5) Has God been pleased to own and use my evangelistic gift to the salvation souls? Writing to the Corinthians, Paul could affirm with confidence, "You are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 9:2, RSV). Can you and I point to converts and say the same thing?44 Download 1.04 Mb. Share with your friends:
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