Welcome to the War
Week 1: Basic Evangelism Training 101
By Miles Crouse
05 May
2007
Saturday morning, 10AM
1 Timothy 6:5-12
Introduction: The goal isn't simply to complete the course as another method of “soul winning” but to truly learn the Biblical way of sharing the Gospel and to completely understand that it is the power of God that converts the human soul from election to glorification. Also this will be a study on how God uses human means in accomplishing His perfect will in completing the Bride of Christ. This will be a multi-level study that will equip and empower the saints of God in a biblical understanding of salvation.
Today, 300 million + people live inside its borders, enjoying levels of comfort and luxury never before seen. America has for the last two centuries become the nation whose attractiveness has become a magnet to millions upon millions of immigrants from all corners of the globe. No other nation on Earth has the wealth of the United States, and only a few countries come close to matching its immense power. It is this enormous wealth and comfort, leaps beyond that of most nations, along with myriad number of freedoms and rights for decades granted its people, that compel humans everywhere to try to migrate inside its borders. Indeed, the gap between Americans’ standards of living and that of most of the world’s people is enormous to the point of absurdity. Yet this is not a utopia. No amount of wealth can cover man’s most basic problem: his depravity.
Welcome to the war
1 Timothy 6:5-10 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But the contrast for the godly is given over to fight the good fight of faith. Look down continuing with verses 11-12 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
The Bible is unashamedly filled with many illustrations of warfare.
Psalm 144:1 A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
2 Timothy 2:3-4 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Three keys to your success as a soldier:
1. Know your objective
2. Know your weapons
Let’s look at our first point…
1. You must know your objective.
You must know where you are heading.
Sadly today we don’t there are many of us who have no idea what it is that we should be doing while we are here on this earth.
What is the supreme objective of the church?
The Bible says:
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
And if where Christian we should be following tin the footsteps of Jesus.
It is estimated that only 1% of today’s professing Christians are actively witnessing on a regular basis.
What would you say to a crew that was on a boat that said we love our captain we a esteem our captain and when their out to sea the captain calls out to his crew a boat is sunk in front of us people are drowning all around us. Let down the life boats!
And the crew instead of doing what he said says oh did you hear the captain’s voice? Praise the captain, glory to the captain. No! If they love the captain they’ll do what he said. And Jesus said “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
The church today is loaded down with countless activities while the real work the Church is almost entirely neglected. The body of Christ is not a pleasure ship cruising into heaven but it is a battle ship station at the very gates of Hell.
Charles Spurgeon said “have you no wish for others to be saved? Than you are not saved yourself you can be sure of that.”
The Changing
of the Guard
At Arlington national cemetery in Washington DC at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier the changing of the guard ceremony is conducted every thirty minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Whether under a blazing sun, driving rains, or in freezing snow, they perform their duty with great precision and military bearing.
As the active sentry nears the conclusion of his walk, a uniformed relief commander enters the plaza to announce the Changing of the Guard. When the sentinel assigned the next walk leaves the guards' quarters, he unlocks the bolt of his M-16 rifle to signify that he is ready to begin the ceremony. The relief commander approaches the tomb, slowly salutes, then faces the visitors and requests silence during the ceremony.
As the new sentinel approaches the relief commander slowly and with great precision, 21 steps waits 21 seconds Then two then march to the center of the mat where the duty sentinel stops his walk, and all three men salute the Tomb.
"Pass on your orders." the commander instructs the active sentinel.
The Sentinal replies, “orders, remain Unchanged."
The last words our Lord spoke before he was received up into heaven.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Orders remain Unchanged.
“He that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30) Welcome to the war.
Basic Training
What general would send out his soldiers untrained and in civilian clothing? I want you to be trained and equipped in every way to share Christ with your co-workers, your mother, your father, your siblings, your spouse, your children, and yes, even sharing Christ “cold-turkey” with perfect strangers. The goal is lofty, in fact, it is impossible from a human perspective, but it Biblical in every way.
So we’ve learned that we need to know our objective. Now let’s move on to our second point…
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
And army travels on its stomach.
And a malnourish army will be weak and trampled by it’s enemy.
Weapon #1: God’s Presence through His Word and Prayer
And we as Christians must feed on God’s word daily and come into God presence in daily prayer.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
If the church is ever to get on its feet it must first get on its knees.
Weapon #2: The Law
Timothy 1:9-10, “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine”
Charles Spurgeon, called the Prince of Preachers, also stated, “I do not believe that any man can preach the Gospel who does not preach the Law. The Law is the needle, and you cannot draw the silken thread of the Gospel through a man’s heart unless you first send the needle of the Law to make way for it.”
The unbeliever, even though it is obvious that he is not good, still proclaims his own righteousness.
Proverbs 20:6, “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”
Proverbs 30:12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes….
The Law Reveals Man’s Depravity
The Bible tells us that, without Christ, man is corrupt and filthy.
Psalm 14:3, “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (See also Romans 3:10-12)
Jesus even told the religious preachers during His earthly ministry in Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Jeremiah got it right 2600 years ago in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. So How do we preach the gospel to mans heart? The law.
Evangelistic Weapon of Choice
The Law was designed primarily as an evangelistic weapon. A weapon that is use for pulling down the strong hold that bind men’s hearts.
If you where in war with a fierce enemy, what would be your weapon of choice? A stone, a bow and arrow or spear. How about a laser guided missile?
Well a laser guided missile is the obvious answer and that’s what the law is like a laser guided missile right to the heart of man. The place where God has written His law upon the heart of man. A place that goes around the intellect and speaks directly to a mans conscience.
Paul wrote in Romans 7:7, “I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
The Law of God (the Ten Commandments) is evidently the “key of knowledge” that Jesus mentioned in Luke 11:52. He was speaking to lawyers—those who should have been teaching God’s Law so that sinners would receive the “knowledge of sin,” and thus recognize their need of the Savior.
Prophecy speaks to the intellect of the sinner, while the Law speaks to the conscience. One produces faith in the Word of God; the other brings knowledge of sin in the heart of the sinner. The Law is the God-given “key” to unlock the Door of salvation.
The Bible says in the Psalms: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul” (Psalm 19:7).
This teaching is critically important. To be properly instructed in how to effectively reach the lost with the gospel, you must begin with the biblical foundation for evangelism.
Conclusion: (Speeding Illustration)
Let’s say on your way here you got on the toll road and your speeding along at 70 MPH. you pass 10 clear speed limit signs that say speed limit 55 MPH. You know it’s breaking the law but you ease your conscience by saying well it’s only 15 MPH over the limit and besides it seems that the law has forgotten to patrol this section of high way and look every one else is speeding.
Then suddenly without warning you look in your rear view mirror and see the red lights fast approaching your car. Your heart sinks you begin to tremble all of a sudden the fact that its only fifteen miles over is now a big deal because you know that for every mile that your over the limit it is going to cost you $15.00 and the fact that every one else is doing speeding doesn’t help your case one bit.
That’s what its like on the Day of Judgment for the sinner. The law will leave you guilty for God’s Judgment bar. You won’t be able to point at others because you know that you where guilty of breaking the law, your own conscience will be a witness against you. And those little sins you thought where no big deal now cost you ever thing even your very soul and the fine is a burning Hell forever.