Evangelism, Part 2

[DeanZF]

We had a POWERFUL time in worship on Sunday.



Sunday's praise set started out with "Mighty One of Israel". The adult Sunday school class had talked about evangelism and how it generally works, corporately and individually. You've probably heard that it's really not just the pastor's job to evangelize. Shepherds don't make sheep, SHEEP beget sheep! The second verse of that song is this



<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>The Lord shall cause

<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>His glorious beauty to be seen

<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>The desert shall bloom and rejoice

<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>Say to them that are fearful of heart

<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>Be strong and listen to His voice



The Lord had a word for us in that verse, an instruction. How many people do you know that are deserts, devoid of bloom, dry, lifeless and hopeless? This verse is all about personal evangelism. Our goal is that His glorious beauty should be seen. How can that help the desert/lifeless soul bloom and rejoice? We need to recognize them and speak to them (those that are fearful of heart and dry and desert property) and encourage them to learn how to be strong by listening to HIS voice. Every saint can share a little about how He has changed that saint. Often the sharing that there is a power that changes is enough to draw the dry one. We can then tell them to listen.



The chorus of the song says:



<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>His voice shall be heard

<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>In the power of His Word

<COLOR color="#EBEBEB">.........</COLOR>The Mighty One of Israel



That's how the weary, dry soul can be strengthened. Find the source of the strength! The POWER of His Word!! The song crystallizes a lot of points from various psalms and does not directly quote the Word, but surely does express the major point that there is POWER IN HIS WORD!! Somehow, Christians know this but forget it so easily. Can we trust Him and His Word to actually be and do what He says they will?



That really started some things going. The music leader began to sing it again, slower. The bishop came down and called a man forward for prayer. I think I put Pete on your prayer list. He fell off a ladder and suffered brain damage. He called Pete down for prayer and asked the musicians to play it again while he and Pete danced (!!!!!!) together under a prayer shawl. The Jewish prayer shawl or tallit (tah LEET) is a very rich symbol of what prayer is about. The tassels at each corner of the garment represent the Hebrew name of God from which we adapted Jehovah, or Yahveh. The Jewish man wraps himself in the shawl to pray each day, often several times a day. The picture is wrapping himself in God, and in all the richness of the provision of God's word and laws. The Law to the Jew is not an onerous thing but a great gift. It's the fence on the playground, not the huge list of no-nos that some make it out to be. That's how most enlightened Jews see it.



So, while four tall guys held the tallit high, Pete and the bishop gently, slowly, delicately, did a number of turns together. Some of the turns were a little like a square dance move, some were elbows links and pivoting. He asked the dancers to come back down and surround them and use their tambourines to the music. Pete was glowing. I believe that we're going to see the day when Pete and the bishop dance arm in arm and Pete won't need his cane any more! Talk about an evangelistic event. God's healing power draws believers and unbelievers alike.



There were other things that went on, too, but those were the two biggest ones. Well, one other word also came out that was pretty amazing. One of the women in the congregation stood and shared that she feels pretty clunky about moving during worship times, but that she heard Father tell her to share that for her and for others in the room, that it was as hard for them to move in worship as it was for Pete to even walk. He wants to heal that too, but we have to be willing to begin moving.



Powerful day in the Lord.



The whole issue of how we can be personal ambassadors/evangelists for Jesus is a tough and tricky thing. For me, the hardest part is one of the lines from the song quoted above: "Listen to His voice." I'm sure that no one reading this has every been as guilty of whining as I, but let me share. Like many in the American and western cultures, I can be awfully self-focused. When my feet hurt, when my feelings are hurt, when no one loves me or listens to me, all I can hear is the shrill sound of my own whining. I don't think I even breathe! If I could still my being for long enough that He might get a word in edgewise, He might talk to me about solutions to my woes and ills, and more importantly, He might just point out someone who needs a prayer or a pat on their back or a playful nudge to get them off the self-pity dime, to be strong enough to be still and hear His voice! Evangelism to the unsaved, ministry to the saints.



This does not take much in the way of training, just the ability to hear Him and to obey. Not much polish needed to pat a back, give a decent "atta boy" or "atta girl", or to say, "Are you okay? You like you might be down today. Anything I could pray about for you?" Not too hard, eh? You can do it, and so can I, if I'll only listen for that Voice, and be willing to be His hands and voice to another soul.