EVANGELISM AND ITS RESOURCES

By: Lunminthang Haokip

The Last Commandment: "All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye th
erefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy ghost" (Matthew 28:18, 19)
The First Commitment: Big turbines generate electrical power in power stations.
The main target of a hydro-electricity project is to electrify towns and village
s, which have no power-supply. The power generated is transmitted as currents th
rough cables laid on lamp-posts to give light to dark houses. Jesus said, "All p
ower is given unto me". The Son of God is the life-giver himself. The Spiritual
power generated through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the Gospel - the Good
News of the Lord, which has the current to cut off a manâ s past, save sinners by
lighting up darkened souls and enlivening deadened spirits. Jesus Commands every
believer to be the cables, lamp¬posts and transformer that transmit the spirit
ual electricity of the Word of God to hot up man's cardiac filament to make it g
low and transmit the spiritual light of conversion. The risen Lord expects every
believer to make His last commandment their first commitment.
Make Evangelism Your Ism: War is too important a matter to be left to Generals o
nly, Napoleon said. Evangelism- the preaching of the Gospel to win souls for Chr
ist - needs to be taken up on a war-footing. "Go ye" does not apply to full time
labourers in God's Vineyard alone but to every converted person worth his or he
r testimony. Every human being living on this sin-smeared messy expanse between
two poles is on an equal footing when it comes to invitation to salvation and th
e responsibility to take salvation to others. There isn't a soul our Creator had
denied a spiritual gift due to each that renders one fit to play a role in evan
gelism. Each professor of the faith is therefore to engage himself in the Christ
-commanded service of harvesting souls according to ability and direction. "Ther
efore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few (
Luke 10:2)".
Teach All Nations: Who are these nations to be taught? After the great flood of
Noah's time, "God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, be fruitful and
multiply, and replenish the earth (Gen 9:1)" Humankind were tested under a new
standard of conduct. Having failed to live without laws and the restraint of civ
il authorities, they were forced to obey the right and reject the wrong. Genesis
chapter 9 records successive failures of Noah, Ham, daughters of men and men in
general in accomplishing God's purpose. Instead of systematically scattering th
emselves abroad in distinctive groups, the wicked generation of the time made a
grand game plan to integrate as one people to defy God and sabotage His designs
(Gen 11:1-9). God didn't take kindly to that. He put down the rebellion against
Him with an iron hand by confusing their languages and drove them out all over.
The Birth of Nationalities: "Because the Lord did there confound the language of
all the earth and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of
the earth (Gen. 11:9).'" This accounts for separation of peoples as nations and
the division of the earth as continents and islands. "And unto Eber were born t
wo sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided (Gen.
10:25)." To these nationally and notionally fragmented and diversified lost race
s, God sends us to boldly put across the message of the Cross.
Bastions of Transgression : For the thousands of years of the Almighty's revela
tion of divine displeasure over the excessive measures of human transgressions t
hrough calamities and diverse adversities, the rebellious mentality of men had n
ot mellowed down. Sin spreads millions of times, faster than righteousness. The
prophetic voices, that informed nations of the ultimate penalty for iniquities
down the centuries have failed to bring the massive majority to repentance towar
ds God. Immorality continues to be the favourite pastime of moral menaces in cit
ies and villages. The body was meant to be kept holy for God's own Spirit to dwe
ll in. Its wholesale abuse in contacts outside holy marriage not only created f
olly marriages, but also wrought divine wrath in the form of Aids and family woe
s. But the natural man had not become wiser .
"Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving th
emselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for a
n example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7) ".
The Spiritâ s Moves: Among these trans-continental lust-breathing bedeviled brash-
breed of creepy creed who brokered tickets of the broad-way to spiritual breakdo
wn, God wants us to make a breakthrough. Saved Souls should teach them the "fear
of the Lord" by feeding them "to hate evil (Proverb 8:13)". In every nation whe
re transgression flourish, the Holy Spirit prepares hardened hearts to absorb me
ssages and meditated messages to disrobe guilt-clad conscience. Knocking heaven'
s door in passionate prayer will lead one to the needy soul readied to be on a s
piritual roll. Being nation or tribe-specific in evangelism runs the risk of sca
ling down God's wide mission and stifling and quenching the Holy Spirit. After h
eavenly hooking the just God¬-fearing gentile centurion Cornelius, the God-comm
issioned Peter triumphantly declared, "But in every nation he that feareth him,
and worked righteousness, is accepted with him (Acts 10:35)".
Evangelism Vs. Clericalism: Clericalism hinders modern-day evangelism. Clericali
sm is increasingly becoming a wedge-driving schism between the clergy and the la
y-persons in church organizations. St Paul, in his letter to Timothy, sent the t
rue spirit of evangelism that he was to pass on what he learned from Paul to men
of potential "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, t
he same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (2 T
imothy 2:2)" What successors of the apostle to the gentiles do today is simply a
satire on and a reverse of the above verse.
I-Disease: Leaders love prominence and feel deeply hurt if they are not consulte
d in every issue of ecclesiastical affairs. Some of them are so greedy for power
that they do a Parvez Musharaf on their own followers. They bestow all titles o
f control and authority on themselves through secret lobbying and doctored resol
utions. That is clericalism at its worst form-running a one-man show by seeking
self-glory and shirking counsel and assistance of co-workers. It's an egoistic l
everage fattened by the germs of I-disease. Clerics carried away by this ism of
bossism, places themselves high above imaginary "lesser mortals" instead of seei
ng themselves as feet-washers. "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him b
e your servant: But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant (Matt 20
:27,23:1)"
Doses Of Solution To Moses' Sorrow: Overburdened by the woes that came along wit
h the ordeal of shepherding the numerous children of God, even a leader of Moses
' stature, felt victim to clericalism. "And when Moses' father-in-law saw all th
at he did.... He said, what is this.... why do you sit judging the people withou
t others to help... ? (Exodus 18:14) ". All alone by himself Moses "sat to judge
the people "who" stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening (v. 13)." Jet
hro saw the occupational hazard that was wearing down the hero of the Red-Sea pa
rtition. Leaders are misleaders rotating towards dictatorial axis like Pak's Per
vez if they don't encourage cadre-based team-work. Jesus trained simple fisherme
n and hard working professionals to be fishers of men. Success in the ministry o
f an Evangelist or a Pastor must pave the way for successors to carry on the tor
ch higher. The remedy to the malfunctioning malady was prescribed in Ex. 18:21,
"Moreover thou shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God,
men of truth, hating covetousness: and place such over them, to be rulers of tho
usands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens".
Qualifications And Qualities: To fit the bill to be in PM's SPG (Special Protect
ion Group), you need to be tall and big-built. To qualify for any job, essential
degrees and desirable testimonials are required to be produced. If it's surviva
l of the fittest for race and sporting, it's survival of the fattest for Jap sum
o-wrestling. When conditions set for competitions that can only fetch rewards an
d prizes perishable are so tough and onerous, how generous is our God in not lay
ing down strict eligibility criteria to make one competent for crown-gaining eva
ngelism.
Height No Bar: The greatest preacher, St. Paul was several inches short of five
feet. Jonathan Edwards, a key figure in America's great awakening of late 18 cen
tury, was a six-footer who had 10 daughters who were equally tall. The Revivalis
t called them his "sixty feet of daughters." If height were considered a factor
necessary for soul-winning, many five-feet-nothing preachers of this world would
have cut a sorry figure. However in delivering the Gospel of the grace of God,
possession of highly desirable spiritual degrees made the difference in myriad s
ouls. "The Sacrifice of God are a broken Spirit: a broken and a contrite heart,
O God thou will not despise" (Psalm 51:17).
Lofty Faith: Moreover, attributes like meekness, blamelessness, patience and end
urance are assets that yield abundant fruits. Pride and arrogance in God's work
look as odd as a fatso with bulging paunches in a fitness contest. Although a mi
dget, St. Paul stood head and shoulders above others in evangelism because he pr
acticed what he preached in II Cor. 3&4, "Giving no offence in anything, that th
e ministry may be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the minis
ters of God, in much patience in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses."
Jesus: The Role Model : The evangelist is one who delights in gathering sheep
and the Pastor, in feeding and caring them. Those exactly were things Christ lov
ed doing and pulled up Peter for neglecting. Jesus visibly was and invisibly is
the divine Evangelist and Pastor even today. He announced his credentials in the
synagogue, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to p
reach the gospel to the poor....".
Burden-Laden Saviour: In His short-lived ministry on earth, our Lord was most s
een mingling freely with the poor, the sick and the suffering. What a far cry fr
om some of our new millennial Evangelists who wag their tails around and in hone
y-sweetened flattering diplomacy, hang loose in the premises of cash-rich achiev
ers. The Saviour was always on the move with a heart thousands of miles in circu
mference, a spirit that was indefatigable and a burden laden with love and conce
rn for the have-nots. Nothing thrilled him more than giving the maximum Gospel t
ruth to reclaim sin-dispelled hell-bound wilderness folks. " Let us go into the
next towns, that 1 may preach there also; for therefore came & forth( Mark 1:38)
".
The Prime Motivator: Any time, He is the prime motivator for every labourer in
God's Kingdom. It's when our focus is shifted elsewhere that man-made maligning
rituals like dependence on mortal and fallible men, membership-drives, denomin
ational-divides and doctrinal-prejudices rob believers of the one Lord, one fait
h, one baptism luxury (Eph. 4:5)" bonhomie they should have shared otherwise. I
n seed-sowing and soul - harvesting in weathers fair or foul, we ought to look a
t the Saviour as the central theme of sermons and the perfect role model. " That
we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine ..(Eph 4:14)".
Mission Possible : Millions of disillusioned humans across the globe are wild-go
ose-chasing illusory means and goals of happiness. They try out everything withi
n their grasp from socialism to materialism, health to wealth, divorce to remarr
iage to another divorce, voodoo to gurus, vodka to yoga, tourism to adventurism
and from fun-filled gadgets to collecting nuggets. They get momentary thrills bu
t true consistent happiness still plays an elusive game on them like the mirage
does.
The Clue To Victory: On the Cross of Calvary, 2000 years ago, by shedding His ow
n sinless blood, and by dying on the cross and rising up again, Jesus had drawn
in blood the blue-print for victory over sin, death and sorrow. The apparently h
ope-shattering impossible mission to attain happiness through human efforts was
made a mission possible by spiritual conversion. Repentance, confession of sin a
nd cleaning of guilty conscience by setting things right with men and God are th
e indispensable steps of faith one must take to sprinkle his heart of an evil mi
ndset that causes recurring sadness.
A New Heart: When men does his part, God does His own by fulfilling the promises
, " A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you
/ will put my Spirit within you, and cause you
to walk in my statutes .... And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God;
then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, a
nd shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities .... (Ezekiel 3
6:26-31). That's the icing on the cake on the kind of blessed joy promised to
a soul that means business with the potency of the Word of God.
Evangelism And social Action: East or west, countries are infested with malnouri
shed shanty-sheltered, skimpily clad and skinny-limbed scum of the earth with su
nken eyes. The world-wide preaching of the grace of God cannot strip supply of s
uccour to the subsisting souls Jesus endeared Himself to before He became a Huma
n-been. Our Lord foretold of the hellish consequences of poverty of concern for
the poor in a parable in Luke chapter 16. The purple-clothed rich-food aficionad
o who selfishly denied Lazarus, the sore-afflicted beggar, a bite at the crumbs,
was himself denied a drop of water from the finger-tip of the impoverished begg
ar when death and judgment reversed their positions. Forbearing suffering was r
ewarded and superfluous affluence punished. Not giving the good things we can, i
n the Creator's view, amounts to serious neglect of human need and a sin of omis
sion that will settle issues of heaven and hell in eternity.
Little Deeds Count: On the other hand, the Lord takes cognizance of little acts
of kindness and small deeds of charity, "And the King shall answer and say unto
them, Verily I say unto you, In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least
of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:40)" Evangelism would
have run counter to the spirit of theism and altruism had it not preached and p
racticed practical benevolence. It is in the proper fitness of things that every
advocate of the Good News from William Carey to George Muller to Mother Teresa
to the Graham Staines to social-action agencies like World Vision, had always be
en mingling evangel with excellent activities of generosity. " But who so hath t
his world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of
compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in Him".
Faith or Social Inaction: How do we feed faith to target groups of philanthropic
action? We'll do well to drive home the truths of the gospel. "So then faith co
meth by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17)" "Satyamev Jayate"
may be inscribed in coins and stately environs of the land
but without faith in God and His righteousness, even the tautly trained civil an
d social functionaries will deliver half-truths and get quarter-truths delivered
to them in return. The frauds and the falsified accounts that trail scams and d
erail the fast tracks of packages of human condition-betterment efforts stem out
of a heart firmly grounded on debased bases of bondage to selfishness that are
anchored to the shackles of greed.
He Is The Truth: What is the panacea for the mammon-like mania? "And ye shall k
now the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). Who and what is thi
s truth that we ought to know and need to know on earth? "Jesus said unto him, I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (
John 14:6)." No seminar, no training, no rules, regulations and guidelines will
be as effective as the fear of God that comes about through possession of the tr
uth that is Jesus in deterring deceit. In adversity, lack of faith in the Almigh
ty will breed lack of integrity and fool a functionary to have more faith in fal
sity. In the supermarket of social activities where the devil, the big liar, is
hard-selling untruth, the hope of a booming neighborhood lies in "buying the tru
th and selling it not (Proverb. 23:23)."
Snares of Overdoing And Under-doing: The Jews believe that if you are not teachi
ng your son a craft the skill in which can be encashed to fill his belly, you ar
e bringing up a thief. Many parents fail to see wisdom in this sound principle.
Doting dads tend to overdo the affection bit on indulgent children only to rue l
ater in clueless states of being. Ministers inherited by mini-stirs and bureaucr
ats survived by thorough-brats are not uncommon in our midst. Some scions of pre
achers delight in breaching peace and that of law-makers in breaking law apiece.
An overdose of anything at the end of the day causes sorrow to the morrow. Reck
less offer of favours to folks of unfaith before they are firmly anchored to the
Word will contradict the dignity they earlier found in manual labour. It's the
Spirit of God put in man through conversion that insulates the human heart from
the natural trappings of the love of money which is the root of all evil.(I Timo
thy 6:10)".
Rooted In The Cross: When the creed of the cross doesn't cross-check the crores
funding lot-improvement projects for the poor, there is the danger of cockily c
overed up materialism subtly corroding the spine of spiritualism. That way well-
meaning accelerated actions of potential social acclaim can simply go awry. Over
riding evangelism should be the goal and welfare schemes a means to achieve the
target. Only domineering spirituality can save community services from doing dis
service to society. To pull out selfishness and greed from one's system, one nee
ds to be rooted and built up in Christ and be established in the faith (Colossia
ns2:7).