Let’s recap what we have learned about evangelism so far this year. We learned: 1) that Jesus commands us to spread the good news; 2) Jesus will be ashamed of us before His Father if we are ashamed to bear witness of Him; 3) it’s never too late to witness about God’s goodness to others; 4) complete evangelism involves words and deeds; and 5) that effective evangelism requires unity and purity in a church body.
True evangelism begins in churches where Christians live a pure, save, and holy life or in churches where each member strives to attain purity within themselves and in amidst their congregation. It is in these churches; that growth will occur and God will add members to keep His church pure. It is in these Houses of God, where a pure church will have pure Holy Ghost power – which brings us to this weeks’ discussion about power.
In I Timothy 5:22 and Romans 6:13, Paul tells us to keep ourselves pure and to yield our members as instruments of righteousness unto God. In Romans 12:1, he tells us that it is our reasonable service to God to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. Why – because God only manifests His Holy Spirit in us if we present ourselves before Him as pure holy instruments through which He can work.
We previously learned that effective evangelism requires both words and deeds. Words are self-explanatory but deeds require the Holy Spirit to work within us to reveal the true deity of Jesus. To witness or evangelize effectively, proclamation of the gospel cannot be divorced from the Holy Spirit. In John 6:63, Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Speech eloquence is mere trapping of one’s ear absent the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is manifested in us when we are witnessing to others, it will bring the breath of Heaven which will cause sinners to come to Christ. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”
Jesus was raised up from the grave by that by same Spirit. This is the same Spirit or power that will raise dead souls today. No other power on earth can quicken a dead soul. If we want that power to quicken lost souls who are dead in sin, we must look to God and His Holy Spirit. When we become pure and allow the Holy Spirit to dwell and work within us, the Spirit will do His work and lost souls will be saved. I pray that the desire of your heart is to be a holy instrument that God can use to make a difference to bring more souls into His Kingdom. [To be continued.]
