Evangelism Training with Rico Tice

The problems of culture

There are many Christians who believe we need to go back to where we were many years ago.

There are others who want to retreat away - to hide from culture and keep their faith personal.

Finally, there are others who want to integrate and reconcile with culture by cherry picking specific aspects that appeal, and leaving other parts out or reinterpret.

We need to pray for resilience. This means to be able to recover quickly from outside pressures. We need to have a soft heart and a tough skin.

Before we go out

Before we go out and evangelise, we need to ask ourselves some questions.

We need to ask is our thinking, our feeling, and our behaving right (in that order). Doing this makes us enthused about the gospel.

When was I converted?

• Before the world began. Remind yourself of your story.

How was I converted?

• By a miraculous opening of my eyes.

What type of day is today?

• Today is a great day because God has planned it for me to grow to be more like Jesus.

How does God feel about me?

• He is delightful with me, because I have Jesus likeness through salvation.

How is today better?

• Because I am one day closer to being with Jesus.

How is today worse?

• There are those who are one day closer to eternal damnation.

We must be disciplined to control our behaviour and our energy. Use the scriptures to help with behaviour - remind ourselves to avoid sinful behaviour. Ensure you have rest and recover when things are disruptive in our lives. Look in the mirror and see sin, then remind yourself of God's grace. Then see joy at that grace. Out of joy comes productive evangelism and discipleship.

What stops us doing evangelism?

Fear of rejection

This is all about identity. Wether we are accepted or not does not make us popular or worth anything. It is Jesus alone that gives us worth. We are going to be rejected, so we must learn to not make that part of our Identity.

Speaking

We are worried about nerves, the facts, and people. Practice is the best way to get better at this. We need to listen to what they've said. We need to explain the truth of the gospel, and then we need to encourage by showing how it affects your life. We may not have an answer to everything and that's okay!

Being genuine

Most people have a Christian friend. The difference about Christians is that they are not selfish and that is attractive. Be genuinely interested and invested. We must be kinder and braver than non Christian friends and ask the hard questions.

Defence

It can be hard to defend the gospel in a gracious way. Asking questions is a good way to show how the gospel stands up better than a secular life.

The 4 steps for conversation

Celebrate

Celebrate that they are made in God's image, He decides everything about them so that he can work in their life. That includes you! God has put you in their path, and that is worth celebrating.

Serve

This one is the one we might be best at. We serve those we meet through random acts of kindness and organising events where we can enjoy them.

Tell

There comes a point where we have to cross the line into a gospel conversation. Asking questions allow to cross that line. That question can be exploratory or an invitation to something.

Exit

If they go quiet, or shut down then perhaps it's time to move back across the line to celebrating and serving. But if they keep speaking, you keep asking!

Keywords

• Grace
• Identity
• Confidence
• Power

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Who is at work in this passage? Who has the power? We are preaching Jesus as Lord, we speak about Him, but the power doesn't come from us it comes from Jesus' Lordship. We preach Jesus as Lord; as a ruler, not as a tool or an asset. The God who made the world gave us His power through our miraculous salvation. At the moment of conversion there is a moment of identity and recognition, and God does that miracle whilst we are talking about Jesus as Lord. The key mechanism is: We preach Christ, and God opens blind eyes.

Wrath and repentance

We have to say the tough things. We cross the line and pray that God will do that miracle.

We mustn't be trapped by thinking if we say the tough things then people won't listen. We mustn't lose heart!

Remember that God did the same miracle in us, so He can do it in them too. God turns on that light, all we must do is keep preaching, and doing it honestly.

Prayer and creativity

Prayer is the most powerful tool we can use. Pray for creativity in the ways we reach out in our local context. What will engage our friends? What events might help?

Motivations for Evangelism

Grace

Romans 1:16 & 17

How does the gift of righteousness make you feel? It should be your treasure. It should motivate you to share that treasure with everyone.

Hell

Those who reject God, end up in hell. The Bible puts it clearly and plainly. We must be clear about our belief in hell, and that only Jesus' death on the cross can save from it. If we love people enough, we will warn them about this.

Glory

Our idols make us seek glory for ourselves. What we want to receive glory for is our idol. We must be seeking glory for only God. If we are doing evangelism for anything else, we cannot be motivated to it.

Godliness

You cannot be like God without a huge concern for the lost. At the heart of being Godly is telling people about Jesus.