19. The Gift of Evangelism

Ephesians 4, beginning in verse 11: "And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipment of the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the cunning of men by their craftiness and deceitful wiles.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way unto Him Who is the Head and to Christ, from Whom the whole body joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied.  When each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and up-builds itself in love."

That is both a description of some of the gifts of the Spirit and also the motivation for the gifts being given - that every part working properly might build itself up together in love.  And today's subject is "He gave some evangelists". We have completed the list of gifts in I Corinthians 12 and now we are just - this Sunday and next Sunday - kind of cleaning up some of the last gifts.  I will not be spending very much time on a couple of the gifts, simply because they are (I consider) offices rather than specific gifts.  And I'll say more about that in just a little bit.

Today we want to consider the gift of Evangelism.  And what comes to your mind, I wonder, when you think of evangelism?  Big tents, sawdust trails, hyper-emotionalism, ex-addicts, ex-criminals, ex-anything - kind of sacred show business.  Two weeks of long meetings with just one more verse for the fifteenth time, each night.  Mourner's benches and inquirer's rooms and scalding tears and another layer of applied guilt.  Is that what you think of?  That's what I think of, a lot of times.  Because I was raised where there were evangelistic meetings that the evangelists had to produce some sort of numbers.  And so he would gradually move the invitation around until somebody would finally respond and it was almost a joke among some of the young fellows in town: "Well, why don't you respond, so we can go home tonight a little early?"  That is not what "evangelism" means.  It may involve some and all of these.  But when we ask the question, "what is the gift of Evangelism", we need to recognize a couple of things.

First of all, the word "evangelism" doesn't appear in the whole Bible.  The entire Bible doesn't contain the word "evangelism".  What's more, the word "evangelist" is only said three times in all of scripture.  But the WORK of evangelism is on every page.  So we need to define it.  What is the definition of "evangelism"?

The gift of Evangelism is the supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit by which certain members of the body of Christ (you should come to recognize that phrase by now, because that's the introduction of every definition I've used).  The gift of Evangelism is the supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit whereby certain members of the body of Christ are given the gift of communicating the gospel in relevant terms to those who are not yet Christians, in such a way that they respond and become converted.  The supernatural gift of communicating the gospel in such relevant terms to those who are not yet Christians, that they respond by becoming converted.  That's the gift of evangelism.

Now we need to remember that the gospel (which means "good news") needs to be shared.  And it is to be shared with the entire world.  And it is to be shared without the restrictions that we so often place on things.  We restrict things on the basis of such subgroups as racial distinctions or sexual distinctions or economic distinctions - and those are not to exist in the body of Christ.  We are one in the body of Christ - there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor freeman, for you are all one in Christ.

And because the message is essential for the entire world to hear, every believer is called to be a bearer of that message.  And not only is every believer called to be a bearer of that message, but God - by His Holy Spirit - has gifted some with the special gift of communicating that message.  That is the gift of Evangelism.

Now we need to understand that the word that is translated "evangelist" actually does not mean "soul winner", which is what we often think of - soul winner.  In fact, you can buy a New Testament that has on the title "Soul Winner's New Testament".  In fact, I've got one.  "Soul Winner's New Testament" because of the marking.  But it does not mean "soul winner".  It means "one who bears good news".  That's the meaning of the term.  And so, when the Bible uses that word (and only three times, remember, "evangelist") it is speaking of one who bears the good news.  Therefore, the first thing that I want to say about evangelism, and the gift of Evangelism, is that the evangelist is a bearer of good news.  He proclaims.  There is content.  In other words, the content of the good news is positive and draws people to Christ.  We've heard a great deal in the last three years about, in the literature that I read professionally, a great deal has been said by the liberal wing of the church concerning what is called "presence evangelism" - that we are to be the presence of Christ in the world, like salt, and like the light.  And, indeed, we are.  But the evangelist - the bearer of good news - must have content.  Not just presence.

Last week, just before I went on the street with Nightwatch with my tour of duty down on skid road, I spent a few minutes with our director, talking.  And he was just as high as a kite, because part of the front-end motivation of something like Nightwatch is to be a presence.  To be in the bars and the dives and the alleys and the go-go joints, and the dumps at first avenue, and the environs down there, as kind of a presence available to help and the servant motif of Jesus Christ.  But always, there is that underlying motivation in every one of us that are involved in the program, that sooner or later they will ask us the purpose.  And we will have a chance to be more than be a presence - we will have a chance to proclaim.  Because an evangelist - a bearer of good news - is one who has content.  And Norm Riggins, our director, was just as high as a kite because a girl he's worked with now for some four or five weeks - that he spent a great deal of time with, a great deal of caring for, and all the rest - came into his office just on Wednesday morning (I was there Wednesday night) and said, "Norm, I want to know why you and some of the rest of the Nightwatch people are always here.  Why?"  She was asking the reason for the presence.

Norm told me, with tears running down his cheeks and a big grin on his face, about how he had been able to kneel by the desk in that crummy room that we have in that crummy hotel in downtown Seattle, and lead her to the Lord.  Presence is pre-evangelism.  It is like the preparing of the soil for the planting of the seed.  But the seed had better have content.  That is what evangelism is.  It is the sharing of good news - content.  And the content is good news.  It's not bad news.  The good news is that God has not left man in his hopeless condition.  God has done for man what man couldn't do for himself.  He has brought about His redemption.  He has purchased him at incredible cost.

I Peter says, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless - the blood of Christ."

John 3 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

The positive, the fullness of the good news, that is the good news that God's grace is greater than our sin; that His love is a seeking love, "for the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost".  The motif of Jesus Christ is not the judge in his royal robes damning and condemning people.  The motif of the New Testament of our Savior Jesus Christ is the Shepherd Who, noticing that among the 100 sheep, one is lost, secures the 99 and seeks until He finds.  And then throws a homecoming party.  That's the content of the good news: that God loves you so much, He went to the cross in Christ.  I need not thunder against, and condemn sin.  Sin carries the freight of its own condemnation.  And it is the power of the Holy Spirit alone that can bring men and women under conviction of sin.  Jesus says that "I, if I be lifted up will draw all men to Me."  Therefore evangelism is the proclamation of this content: the good news.  It is not a manipulation of emotions.  It is the statement of intellectual content.  Don't let that word "intellectual" scare you - it means it's rational, reasonable, understandable.

Second, the gift of evangelism is always manifested by being effective in its results.  Now, it's said that about all the gifts.  If you are working in conjunction with the gift of the Holy Spirit you've been given, you're going to be effective.  If you've been given the gift of teaching, your students will learn.  If you haven't been given that gift of teaching, your students may just stay quiet, but not learn.  If you've been given the gift of evangelism, those with whom you share the good news are converted - they believe.

Look at Acts 2, the day of Pentecost.  Oh there's a huge problem - everybody comes running around because of the sound of the mighty rushing wind and the tongues.  Peter preaches his sermon and this is what it says, "And when they heard this, they were pierced in their heart".  That's a work of the Holy Spirit, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "brethren, what should we do?"  And the result was the conversion and baptism of 3,000 people.  The result manifested the gift was present.  Paul and Barnabas go on a missionary journey to Iconium, and there is says in Acts 14, "They went into the synagogue and so spoke that a great multitude, both of Jews and also of Greeks, believed."  It has its effect.

I have a friend, well...  I don't even think he knows I exist...  Well, he knows I exist, but he wouldn't call me a friend, because we don't know each other that well.  But I like to call important people "friends of mine".  So I'll call him my friend.  This man's name is John Wimber and he's probably a fellow that has the gift of Evangelism to a degree I've never seen in anyone before.  He walks into an airport waiting room, and he's like a hunting dog in a field full of quail.  He just stands there and just kinds of vibrates.  You almost see the old radar systems starting to revolve and all of sudden... he heads right for somebody, and within twenty minutes, that person - with great joy - has accepted Christ.  Every conversation - I don't care where it starts from - winds up with Jesus Christ.  Its not manipulative, and its not forced, its not twisted.  I had a professor one time tell me a good way to get an opening to witness for Christ is to always buy gas at Shell stations or Sinclair stations, because you could say, "Oh, who put the "hell" in "shell"?', or "who put the "sin" in "Sinclair"?'  And that was a way to open conversations.  That is really warped.  That's not of the Holy Spirit - that's a manipulative kind of thing.

But John Wimber doesn't have to do that.  And he also has the ability to communicate to an amazing level - at the level of understanding that the people have.  He was a professional musician for many years.  I think I told you this a few months back.  When he had just accepted Christ, he was attending a Bible study and he brought a couple of his musician friends who knew nothing from nothing about nothing.  And they came in and sat down at a Bible study and the preacher was sitting there with a black three-piece suit and a white shirt and a black narrow tie, and they're sitting there and they had a little bit of small talk and then the pastor said, "Now let's turn to God's word."  And he even changed the tone of his voice.  And when he said, "God's word" he picked up this ominous black book

And John Wimber's friends from the musician's union turned to him and said, "Hey man, what's he talking about?"

And Wimber says, "What he means is, that's a heavy chart."  Now a musician understands what that means.

And the pastor went on for about 35 minutes about the "grace of God".  "The Grace of God".

And these musicians - they weren't sure they understood what "God" meant, but they didn't know what grace was.  One of them turned to John Wimber and said, "What is this grace stuff he's talking about all the time?"

And this is what John Wimber said to this musician, "What he's saying is, its kind of like you hear there's an opening on Basie's band and he'll pick you without an audition."  Now that's grace to a musician!  You get to sit in with Basie without an audition.  It's undeserved, it's unmerited, it's unearned - there's no way you can deserve it - it's grace.  He understood.

The gift of Evangelism is the ability to communicate the good news so it is understood and responded to, and that is a gift.  Now in the New Testament, those who had the gift were recognized by given the office.  Ephesians 4 refers to the office of the evangelist.  "And he gave some to be pastors and teachers and evangelists."  That's an office.  But the office was occupied by the person who had been given the gift of Evangelism.

Now, the gift of Evangelism in the new testament was seen - and in much of today's society is also seen - as itinerant in nature.  The evangelist is one who would exercise his gift, many would believe, and he would then move on to another field - leaving the rooting and grounding and growing of those new believers to those who have been given the other gifts of the body.  And so it is that you see the same thing.  You read the new testament and you see Paul going like a blaze of fire across Asia Minor - not once, not twice, but three times.  Periodically he'd drop in on a church.  Sometimes he'd stay there as long as a year or a year and a half.  Maybe even as long as three years.  But he was always on the move, leaving behind Timothy and Titus and Barnabas and some of the others who would ground these people in the belief they had come to know under the evangelistic proclamation that Paul had given.

So it is that today, those who have the gift to such a degree that it becomes their vocational gift (they are occupying the office of the evangelist, in other words - it's their vocation): the Billy Grahams, and Luis Palaus, and the Leighton Fords are itinerant in their ministries.  They're on the move.  And they leave the rooting and ground of that which comes to new life under their ministry of evangelism to those who have the other gifts of the body.  By the way, don't you ever come to me and say that that is an ineffective kind of ministry that Billy Graham and these other evangelists have.  There are just too many people in this congregation that came to know Jesus Christ through the ministry of somebody like Billy Graham.  In fact, specifically Billy Graham when he was there at the King Dome for that major crusade.  If you don't believe that his work is used of God, and lasts, let me introduce you to a few people, because as he does his work and we do our work, then together the body is built.  So the evangelist is always concerned about follow-up, but the follow-up is primarily the responsibility of the rest of the body.

Let's take a brief look at a Biblical model.  The word "evangelist" is used only three times in the new testament.  One is in that list in Ephesians 4, and the other usage is used as specifically to describe a man by the name of Philip.  Now, this Philip was not one of the twelve chosen by Christ.  He was one of the seven chosen by the early church.  You remember the conflict in Acts 6 - the Greek-speaking believes and the Jewish-speaking believers - the widows were in a conflict because they felt that there was distribution that was being unequal (discrimination was being practiced).  And so they started to complain and Peter and the rest of the fellows that were disciples were spending so much time solving problems and serving tables and keeping books that they finally said, "Look, this is nonsense.  Choose out from yourselves seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit, and let them take this job and we'll devote ourselves to the preaching and to prayer."  

So they did.  One of them chosen was Stephen, who is the first person to die for his faith.  His martyrdom is described in Acts 6 and 7.  Another one that was chosen as this servant deacon was a man by the name of Philip.  And it says in 8:1, following the death of Stephen, "and they" (that, is, Christians) "were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria except the apostles."  And this enormous persecution, the firstfruit of which was the martyrdom of Stephen, resulted in a widespread attempt to stamp out the church at Jerusalem.  And that's the only place the church was, by the way, until this persecution came and scattered them all over.  The persecution spearheaded by this crazy fanatic, Saul, they were scattered throughout the region except the apostles.  In other words, it was a lay movement.  And as soon as these laymen set up residence in a new area, the scripture says they preached.  Now that doesn't mean that they built themselves a pulpit and church and stood up there and held forth forever - it means that they shared good news.  Acts 8:4 says, "Therefore, those who had been scattered" (that is the laymen) "went about preaching the word."  It was a lay movement.  It was not limited to men.  It was not limited to whites.  It was not limited to anyone.  All those who knew Christ had the right and responsibility of sharing the gospel.  And they did.  It says, "and all those who had been scattered went about preaching the word."  And as Philip, as one of these, simply began to share the word he discovered that people were responding to an unusual degree.  It was taking more and more of his time.  First thing you know, Philip finds himself - instead of as an avocation sharing the good news - he finds a vocation.  He's doing it full-time.  And it's interesting that he had the desired results no matter whether he's talking to a whole host of people or just one-on-one.  If you look at Acts 8, it says, "And the multitudes, with one accord, were giving attention to what was said by Philip."  They believed Philip preaching the good news.

But you find also that this revival in Samaria was interrupted by the Holy Spirit who sent Philip to the desert.  And there he's standing on the side of the road out in the desert, thinking, "man, all that multitude back there waiting to hear me hold forth and I'm out here in the desert.  God I don't understand the way You work."  The only guy he could see is a black man in a chariot coming this way.  And he knew from looking at him that he was a foreigner.  And so he's jogging alongside and he hears this guy reading from Isaiah and Philip says, "Do you understand what you're reading?"

And the man says, "No, how can I."

And Philip says, "Maybe I can help you out."  The guys stops, he gets in the chariot and he leads him to Christ.  One man.  Now don't tell me that wasn't an important one man and God didn't know what He was doing - interrupting a revival with multitudes and sending Philip to one man, because that one man was the secretary of the treasury for the queen of Ethiopia.  And centuries later when the church finally got to Ethiopia with their missionaries, they found a million and half Christians.  Now don't tell me that one man didn't do his job too.  He went home as an evangelist - one who shares the good news.

Alright.  We discover our gifts by action.  I don't care how large the rudder of your ship is.  Unless it's moving, it does nothing to establish direction.  The Evangelism gift is discovered as we witness.  I conducted a survey four years ago of 400 leaders of Covenant churches in the conference.  These were not just casual every day run-of-the-mill members - these were the kind of people that the church said are important people. The church is not always that perceptive...  But anyway, I asked these 400 people in a written questionnaire, "Do you believe that what Jesus Christ did for you is important enough to witness about?"  And 100% said "yes, definitely"  Then I asked the same 400 people (404 to be exact), "have you shared your witness with at least one person in the last year, specifically speaking of Jesus Christ?"  And only 55% said "yes".  45% said that it's so important that it ought to be shared, but they didn't do it within the last year.  One of them wanted to know if I meant 365 days or this calendar year.  This person didn't want to be ranked or put down by me.  God help me, I'm not going to put anybody down.  The thing that disturbs me is that I'm as disobedient as I am.

The dictionary defines a witness as "one who beholds, or otherwise has personal knowledge.  To give, or be evidence of."  You see a traffic accident - it's already happened when you get there.  You pull off the side of the road and walk over and gawk, like you're not supposed to do.  And when you walk over and gawk, the police officer walks up to you with his pad and he says, "Are you a witness?"

Now, you do not say to that police officer, "Well now, exactly what do you mean by that?"  You don't say, "Well I'm trying to be a 'presence'."  You say you didn't see it.  Or you say, "Yes I did".  I had the misfortune of meeting a young man rather forcibly here a few weeks ago.  My Datsun ran into a Toyota driven by a man by the name of Takamoto.  Clearly a nice young fellow.  He was really upset, but no more than I was.  And I got out and surveyed my damage and $2,500 - can't believe it.  Anyway, I'm looking at my damage, and a man came running up to me and he said, "I'm in a dreadful hurry, but I saw the whole thing happen.  Here's my card - if you need me, call me."  Now, that doesn't happen very much, and I was delighted to have this man's name, because he had seen what had happened and it was not my fault.  But he knew what it meant to be a witness.  So do you.  So let's not play games when we say "what does it mean to be a witness for Christ."  We know what it means.  The dictionary even says it is "to behold, or otherwise have personal knowledge to give, or to be evidence."  And the scripture says that we are to be obedient in our role as witnesses.  Don't tell me you don't have the gift of Evangelism, so you're not supposed to say anything.  Because the scripture says to all Christians "Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to any man who wants a reason for the hope you have within."  We are to be eager to relate what happened to us when we encountered Jesus Christ.  A simple testimony - not theological erudite.  Some of you say, "I need to know more before I share."  Let me tell you, some of you are educated beyond your obedience now!  Talk about your meeting with Jesus Christ and your walk with Him.  I have encountered people who will talk about the Seahawks, who will talk about the Mariners (and there's not much to talk about there), who will talk about the Sonics, who will talk about their boats, who will talk about the weather - they'll talk about anything.  But when you mention Jesus Christ, they just fluster in terror.  What a shame.

Dr. David Hubbard, who was president of Fuller Theological Seminary says this, "Not all of us have the gift of Evangelism.  I admire people who can lead others to Jesus Christ right on the spot - who have the ability to turn every conversation into an occasion for sharing God's plan of salvation.  I am not one of those."  But Dr. Hubbard goes on to say, "But, I have a story to share, and so do you.  I have a relationship with Christ that I can describe, and so do you.  Evangelism will best take place when all of God's people have learned to express their winsome ways."

And there's another quote, I don't even remember where I got this one, but it says that "witnessing is just being honest as a Christian."  If I am even partially honest in conversation with non-Christians, I will find it extremely difficult NOT to witness.  I told you about walking up to the motel with a fish pin in my lapel.  And the girl behind the desk got all excited.  "Oh!" she said and reached out an took ahold of my pin, "Are you a Pices?"  Now, I have two choices: I can lie, or I can witness.  There's no alternative.  If we are even partially honest in our conversations and relationships with non-Christians, we cannot help but witness.  I said, you know, I debated I'm ashamed to say, but I thought "Oh, I don't want to get into a big conversation.  I want to get to the room and crash, you know.  That's what I wanted to do.  That's not very spiritual, but I'm not.  You know, God's working on it and so am I.  Finally I just knew I had to say something, so I said,

"No.  Actually that's not a sign of the Zodiac, that's a sign that I'm a Christian.  And I'd like to explain it to you sometime, if you'd like to have me do it."  And she said, "Yes.  Would you?"  I almost pulled out my appointment book, you know.  And I could just kind of feel the Holy Spirit nudging me, you know.

And I said, "Now?"

And she looked around and she said, "Sure!  There's nobody waiting.  Why not right now?"  Well, how do you get out of it?  You don't get out of it.  And the point of the matter is that sharing the good news is simply being honest as a Christian.

Some of you read Ann Kiemel's books.  They're just delightful.  She's remarkable.  I could never do some of the stuff she does.  She pulls into a gas station and she says, "Just give me a couple of dollars because I'm kind of in a hurry."  And the guy said, "Where are you going?"   And she said, "Do you mean right now or do you mean eventually?"  I can't handle that - that doesn't work with me.  But I find it's impossible not to be a witness.  People say to you, "How come you go to church all the time?"  "Jimmeny Christmas, how long does church last anyway?  You never get home."  "You're real religious aren't you?"  Or they observe you and your business and your profession and they want to know why it is that you're sexual morality and your business morality is different from theirs.  And they ask you.  "Oh come on!  A little bit of cheating never hurt anybody!  Everybody's doing it.  How come you don't?"  There is no way you can answer that as a Christian, without being honest.  And you can't be honest without telling them you're a Christian.  And they're going to say, "Well so what?"  So then you get to define what you mean.  That's exciting.  You just can't keep it quiet.

Now, I want you to know I do not believe that I have the gift of Evangelism.  I believe God uses me in evangelism, but that is simply because of His great grace in using me as I share my witness.  I am simply being obedient to my role as a witness.  Some of you think I have the gift of Evangelism.  You told me.  I don't agree, because when I walk into a large room, I don't look around - like John Wimber - for somebody I can share Christ with.  I find a corner where I can go sit down.  You know when that woman asked me if I was a Pisces, John Wimber would have gone right over the desk.  I wanted to go to my room.  Now, there's a difference.  But we are called to be witnesses - every one of us without exception.

Now, there are four motivations, and I'm just touching these.  Number 1: we are all to witness because it is demanded by God.  And we must be obedient to His word.  Number 2: the Bible teaches very clearly that man without Christ is lost.  And that in itself ought to provide a motivation.  And even if it may be a negative motivation, it is still a clear recognition that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by Me."  And if you're as uncomfortable about that statement as I am, you have to recognize that it's neither your statement nor mine, but it is His.

Some months ago, I told you what I'm going to tell you now.  And I know it upset some of you then, and I'm sure it will again.  But I'm still going to say it.  I'm going to make two statements and then an observation.  The first statement is this: many of your best friends are going to hell.  The second statement is: many of you don't give a damn.  And the observation is: many of you are more upset over the fact that the pastor said "damn" in the pulpit than you are over the truth of the first statement.  That makes my blood run cold, because it strikes me as clearly as it does you.  We have been called to bear witness to the good news, because God is not willing that ANY should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  And He is dependent upon us to bear that good news, and to authenticate it with our lives.

Third: the desire to share good news is universal.  Have you ever been in a group of three people, and you heard some really good news?  And a fourth person comes in, and you three jump all over each other to be the first one to tell the good news.  Now this is really good news - the abundant life is incredible good news!

And the fourth motivation is: it is enormously strengthening to the faith of the one who is doing the sharing.  "If we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation."  We may discover, as we simply share in compassion and interest and love and obedience, that we are also the recipients of that marvelous gift of the Holy Spirit called the gift of Evangelism.  I have seen many in this congregation that have that gift and some of you have talked to me about that.  There are some people that hear someone say that "I've talked to so and so and had a chance to lead them to the Lord," and your response is jealousy, or you feel condemned.  The only reason you need to feel condemned is if the Holy Spirit says "how come you're not talking about Me?"  Not because you're not effective.  My job is to plant the seed.  That's your job: plant the seed.  Prepare the soil, plant the seed.  You don't plant the seed and then stand there and say, "grow!"  You can if you want to, but it won't do anything.  I plant the seed and then its up to God.  If He wants to give it growth, then praise the Lord, glory, hallelujah.  And I've had some really exciting times the last couple of weeks.

In first service, I looked out there and saw a young man that was what I called a "breached birth", spiritually.  I mean that was a tough delivery.  And that guy has so much intelligence and so much intellectual integrity that he stretched me - oh he stretched me!  And I'd finish talking with him, and I'd have such a headache, and my heart would ache so bad, and I'd say, "Lord, I don't know.  I can't even start to answer some of the questions this young man raises."  And the only thing I'd get back from the Lord is, "Well, what have you got all those books for?  Go to work."  And then we'd get together again, and I'd have all the answers, but he wouldn't ask those questions.  He had a whole bunch of new ones.  And then I'm sitting there for an appointment and he comes walking in and he walks all the way around the subject and then finally I just couldn't stand it any longer and I said, "Wait a minute."  And I called him by name and said, "I've got to know.  How are things with you and Jesus Christ coming along?"  And he said, "Oh, didn't I tell you?  I invited Christ into my life."  Well, he knew he hadn't told me - he was just funning me.  And I almost knocked my desk over, I got so excited.  Just, glory!  I don't know if you heard me.  You could have, any place on the island, I think.  I got so excited, but that's not because I have the gift of evangelism.  Because I wasn't even there when he responded to Christ.  And the initial preparation of his life was the dear precious young woman that, by God's grace, he's going to marry.  That to me, is the gift of Evangelism.  Not recognized by the body and put into the office or vocation of an evangelist, but simply one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.

Leighton Ford in his book, "Good News is for Sharing" said, "As a boy of sixteen, I first met Billy Graham - another gifted evangelist - through the Youth For Christ movement.  Observing those men and women in action both personally and in public, I felt something beginning to stir within me.  A deep and longing to express my faith began to grow.  Soon opportunities came to speak at youth groups and then at little evangelistic occasions and one-on-one.  And wonder of wonders, people were moved to accept Christ through what I said."  And he says many other things.  And he says, "While I believe God has given me certain other spiritual gifts, the gift of Evangelism is primary.  I discovered it as I witnessed."

I'm going to ask you four questions.  Do you have the strong desire to share your faith in Jesus Christ?  Well, I ought to start with this: are you right with the Lord?  If you have made a commitment to Christ but you just let things kind of lay fallow and go to seed, then you can't answer these questions.  You've got to deal with first things first.  Get squared away with Him.  You're no earthly good.  And I mean that.  To Him or the body.  But if you are right with God, do you find the strong desire to share your faith in Christ?  Secondly, do you find opportunities to do so all around you?  Just all around you?  Third, do you find that you're able to communicate naturally and understandably about Christ.  Fourth, do you see people responding and commiting themselves to Christ?  If you answer "yes" to those four questions then, brother or sister, you have the gift of Evangelism.  Now, you are not to take that gift as a basis for pride, or as a basis for judging those who don't have the gift of evangelism.  You are to take that gift and use it to the glory of God, the salvation of souls, and the building up of the body - just like we're all to use the gifts that God has given to us.  I praise God that, periodically it seems at least, that God does give me the gift of Evangelism.  But I don't seem to have that gift resident within me on a permanent basis.  I'd love to have it.  The only problem with that gift, as far as I'm concerned in my job, is I might have to hit the road, and I'd just as soon stick around.  And so God has given me some other gifts that blend in with my needs.  The gift of Evangelism is a gift that is not dependent upon massive campaigns and organizations.  Elton Trueblood says, "Evangelism occurs when people are so en-kindled by contact with the central fire of Christ that they, in turn, set others on fire."