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Evangelism In
The Book of Acts
God loves the lost and
has made plans to save them through the gospel. (I Corinthians 15: 1-4) We must share the salvation message with
others. Let us never think we can be free from the blood of others if we fail in
the matter of evangelism. "When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and
you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to
save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I
will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn
from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall
die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous
man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling
block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall
die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered;
but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the
righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall
surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul."
(Ezekiel 3: 1821)
The love of Christ constrains us to be evangelistic. "For
the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died." (II Corinthian 5:14)
The work that Jesus did while on earth centered in seeking and saving the lost.
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
(Luke 19:10) He has left this same work for the church; that is, we must seek
and save the lost.
Every Christian must bear fruit. "Every branch in Me
that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He
prunes, that it may bear more fruit." (John 15:2) God not only expects us to
bear fruit, He expects us to bear much fruit. “Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” (John 15:8) The reason
that we must bear fruit is because one soul is worth more than the whole world.
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own
soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)
Christianity is a taught religion. People must hear and learn in order to come
to God. ''No one can come to Me unless the Father who
sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has
heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." (John
6:44-45) In order for mankind to hear and learn we must go to them because they
will not come to us. Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I
am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Nothing
builds the church but face to face, heart to heart evangelism. Let us arise and
reach the lost for Jesus.
The
Let us observe evangelism in the book of Acts:
Acts One: Evangelism was preceded by a period of prayer. (Acts 1:12-14)
Acts Two:
Evangelism involved powerful public preaching of Jesus and His gospel. (Acts
2:36-38)
Acts Three: Evangelism involves doing what you can for others. (Acts
3:6)
Acts Four: Evangelism involved speaking God’s word with boldness. (Acts
Acts Five: Evangelism involved private and public preaching, done daily.
(Acts
Acts Six: Evangelism involved daily distribution to the poor. (Acts 6:1)
Acts Seven:
Evangelism involved being willing to lay your life on the line for Jesus.
(Acts 7:59-60)
Acts Eight:
Evangelism involved going down on the road where the people are to be found.
(Acts
Acts Nine: Evangelism means going to all kinds of people. (Acts 9:17-18)
Acts Ten:
Evangelism means going to good people that have not obeyed the gospel. (Acts
10:1-2)
Acts Eleven: Evangelism
means telling people words whereby they can be saved. (Acts
Acts Twelve: Evangelism means praying for workers. (Acts
Acts Thirteen: Evangelism means sending out workers. (Acts 13:2-3)
Acts Fourteen: Evangelism results from good leadership. (Acts
Acts Fifteen:
Evangelism grows out of being able to settle conflicts. (Acts 15:6)
Acts Sixteen: Evangelism involved keeping the right attitude. (Acts
Acts Seventeen: Evangelism involved study-ing
and preaching God’s word. (Acts 17:11-12)
Acts Eighteen:
Evangelism involved speaking God message with love and without fear. (Acts
18:9)
Acts Nineteen: Evangelism means opposing all religious error. (Acts
19:26-27)
Acts Twenty: Evangelism means preaching the whole counsel of God. (Acts
Acts Twenty-One: Evangelism
grows out of deep commitment to God and to the lost. (Acts
Acts Twenty-Two: Evangelism thrives when we realize we are sent by God.
(Acts
Acts Twenty-Three: Evangelism finds its foundation in the resurrection
of Jesus. (Acts 23:6)
Acts Twenty-Four:
Evangelism involves reasoning about
righteousness, self-control and judgment to come. (Acts 24:25)
Acts Twenty-Five:
Evangelism is affirming both with word and action that Jesus is alive. (Acts
25:19)
Acts Twenty-Six: Evangelism is persuading people to be a Christian.
(Acts 26:28)
Acts Twenty-Seven: Evangelism involves faith in God. (Acts 27:23-25)
Acts
Twenty-Eight: Evangelism involves preaching the
If you are not a Christian obey the gospel TODAY. “For he saith, I have heard
thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee:
behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II
Corinthians 6:2) To become a Christian, hear the gospel (Romans
- - - - Charles Box
News & Notes
1. Prayer List: In Need Of
Prayers: Jerry Barr, Mae Beverly, Tyler Clark, Roy Goodwin, Montine
Hardin, Jean Harrell, Evan Hartsell, Wanda Kyser, Jo Ann Moorer, Amanda
Phillips, Mary Powell, Denver Reynolds, Ottey Simno, Ralph Sims, Steve Smith, Brenda
Stallings, Earl & Jane Walden, Leroy Waller, and Mary Williams. Crowne
Health Care: Mary Alexander, Gladys Childs, Kathy Johnson, Myrtle
Perdue, and Iva Lou Wright.
2. Baptized Into Christ:
Colby Boutwell was baptized into Christ on Thursday. She has a daughter Callee. Her address is
3. Sympathy Expressed:
Our love and sympathy is expressed to: (a)
Ann Walz and her family in the death of her grandfather, Fred Schroeder, (b) Sheila Lattimore
and her family in the death of her husband, Paul. Sheila’s address is
4. Please Pray For: The
following people are serving in
5. Congratulations: Adam
and Kimberly were married in a beautiful service this past Saturday.
Congratulations and God bless you both.
6. Birthdays: October
7th
Kathy Bozeman, Janice Cole, and McArthur Taylor, October 10th Ann
Cauthen, and October 13th L.D. Sessions.
7. Area Wide Youth Devotional:
There will be a youth devotional for the
8. Ladies Bible Class:
The Wednesday morning ladies Bible class meets at
9. Thank You: To My
Walnut Street Family, Thank you so much for being there for my family. Your
love and support at this time means so much to me. Thanks for the visits, food
and most of all your prayers. Please continue to keep me and my family in your
prayers, we will certainly need them in the coming day. With all our love, Jerri
Davis and Family
10. Bulletin Boards:
Attention Teachers: it is now time to put up new bulletin boards for the fall.
If you need help please see Lisa Bagents. Thanks for all you do to keep our
building looking great.
11. Dishes In
The All-Purpose Room: There are many dishes in the all-purpose room.
Please collect those that belong to you.
12. Secret Pals: Twenty-one of our ladies are participating in the
Secret Pals program for 2007-2008. This is a great way to encourage each other.
Thanks to Nell Daughtry for coordinating this effort.
13. Carl Sessions
14. The Reporter: “The
Reporter” can be seen on our web-site or you can receive it by e-mail. Send
e-mail request to: wschurchofchrist@camelliacom.com.
If you receive the Reporter by mail and would be willing to receive the e-mail
version we would be grateful as postage is so expensive. The website address is: http:\\www.walnutstreetchurchofchrist.org.
15. Put These Dates On Your Calendar: (a) October 7th-9th – Gospel Meeting –
How To Be
What You Need To Be
Is there a secret to being the kind of
Christian that you should be? How does one find the strength to overcome
temptation? How does one follow through with doing those good things that he or
she knows to do? How do we conjure up the motivation that we need to study and
understand the truths in God’s word? I believe Jesus answered these questions
when he stated, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first
commandment” (Mt
You see, contrary to what some believe and
teach following God’s will is not easy. Think about any number of God’s
commands and you’ll see what I mean. “Love your enemies…” (Mt 5:44). Jesus said
we are to forgive our brethren not just seven times, but seventy times seven,
or limitlessly (Mt
Yet, even in light of these and so many other commands, Jesus tells us “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mt 11:30). And John wrote, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome (I Jn 5:3). How can this be? The burden of God’s commands is not “light” because He doesn’t expect much out of us; it can only be “light” due to His undying love for us and as a return of our love towards Him.
Our following God’s will, could be likened to this analogy: Imagine you were required to carry around a fifteen pound bag of potatoes wherever you went. This would likely be a burden that none of us would be glad to bear. But, what if those potatoes were replaced with your own infant child? The task of caring for the child would certainly be more daunting that carrying the potatoes. The reason that we would choose the more difficult task is the love we would hold for our child. It is love that would lessen the grievousness of the task.
God expects a great deal from His children,
but it is love for Him that can carry us through.
-
- - - Darrell Powell
-
We don’t
change the message, the message changes us.
Don’t just own a Bible; read it!
(334-382-3001)