“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.”  – Psalms 47:1

The 47^th Chapter of Psalm contains are hymns of praise are thought to be written about the event when the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 18:13-19:37). King Hezekiah of Judah was a King who had a personal and powerful prayer life and a growing relationship with God. He trusted the Lord, remained faithful and obeyed all the commands God gave to Moses. However, King Hezekiah lacked wisdom in planning for the future and protecting the spiritual heritage that he enjoyed. As a Reformer, he destroyed altars, idols and pagan temples and reinstituted Passover as a national holiday.  Although he responded to his present-day problems, he lacked foresight which caused Judah to be placed on Babylon’s “Nations to Conquer” list by unwisely displaying Judah’s wealth to Babylon. Upon realizing his mistake, he prayed and God answered his prayer and delivered Judah from surrendering to Assyria. The lesson here is that prayer should be our first response in times of trouble (even if we cause it) and we shouldn’t wait until things seem hopeless.  We need to establish a daily prayer life and ask for God’s wisdom to guide our everyday decisions.

Today, with the fears created by tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural and man-made disasters that cause destruction, the Bible is clear that God is our only and our eternal refuge; and that only He can provide us strength and victory in every circumstance we face. War and destruction are evitable but so is God’s final victory. We should take time each day to be still – praise, honorably and reverently worship Him for His power, majesty and glory. God is the Almighty. He is awesome beyond words. That should not keep us from attempting to describe Him and His wonderful works to others.  Though we can’t describe Him completely, we can tell others what He has done for us and what we know about him. This is the command of the Great Commission Jesus gave to us in Matthew 28:18-20 when He said, “. . . All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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.” 

We have learned about the following 6 Keys of Effective Evangelism.

1. Unity   Signs, Miracles and Deeds
2. Purity   Persecution
3. Power   Persistence and Influence
4. Signs, Miracles and Deed 
5. Persecution
6. Persistence and Influence 

It is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility to convict men and Christians are commanded to give men enough of God’s Word to produce a self-conviction that brings about a change in men’s minds and touches their deepest emotions.  The issue is getting men to believe in Jesus and that He is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for mankind. We should lead others in prayer to come boldly before God with reverence and seek forgiveness for their sins.  We must assure those to whom we witness that Jesus is their Friend, Counselor, Savior, Redeemer, etc. We need to let them know that God loves them and is willing to forgive their sins regardless of what their sins may be.

We must not forget to invite them to church to continue to grow in their spiritual journey and seek a deeper relationship with Jesus and get to know Him for all that He is.  Jesus promised us that the Holy Spirit will be there to help Christians fulfill His Great Commission. When witnessing about Jesus, expect God to use you. God honors faithful witnesses who put their trust in Him. Just as Jesus prayed that the Holy Spirit would work in the lives of His disciples, we can also pray that the Holy Spirit will convict non-believers and give them the desire to know God. A Crown of Rejoicing (e.g., Soul Winner’s Crown) awaits in Heaven for those who faithfully witness to others about Jesus’ Saving Grace. (See 1 Thess.  2:19-20 and Daniel 12:3). 

     The sixth key of effective evangelism that we’ll learn about is “persistence and influence.” Everybody exudes an influence on others in some way. Influence refers to the power to affect others whether it’s good or bad. The book of Act teaches us about influence by individuals and by churches. Christians should be concerned about the kind of influence they have on others.  The bible says that Christians should shine as lights of the world and be blameless and without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.  Therefore, Christians who believe in Christ should unite and put their trust in Him so we can more effectively spread the Good News to nations which He commanded us to do.

     Peter gave us excellent example of persistence in Acts 5:28-29 when he and the other Apostles stood before the Sanhedrin Council who had commanded them to not teach in Jesus’ name, and Peter told the council that it was better for them to obey God than to obey man.  In Acts 5:30 Peter took his Godly boldness to another level by accusing the council of slewing and hanging Jesus on a tree to die.  Peter was referring to the Old Testament scripture in Deuteronomy 21:23 that says God curses a man who hangs on a tree to die. Peter goes on to testify that God exalted Jesus with his right hand to be a Savior, to give repentance to Israel and to forgive them for their sins. He was basically telling the council that even they thought that Jesus was nothing or something to be trampled upon, God didn’t curse His Son but yet lifted Him up from the grave and exalted Him with His right hand, meaning God gave Him power.

     Gamaliel, a Pharisee member of the council, took Peter’s message to heart and convinced several other council members to spare the Apostles from death at that time. Gamaliel, who was a teacher of law is also credited with educating Paul who became one of the greatest teachers in the bible.  Though we don’t hear much about Gamaliel, the biblical stories about Peter and Paul are well known and they still have a profound influence on Christians today.

    Christians need to know that after issuing a call to sinners to accept Jesus and come to repentance; Jesus will always be exalted. Many people always talk about salvation when witnessing but often forget to stress the importance of repentance.  Don’t let that be the missing ingredient in your message of salvation to others.  Also, don’t forget to be concerned about your influence on others and maintain persistence and boldness when witnessing to others about the Good News.

Two weeks ago we left off by saying that pure and unified churches can reach the world with evangelism that surges with power from God and that persecution will come to those who live a holy life.  2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” If you are not suffering persecution you’re not living godly. You have to get a reaction from Satan because he reacts to the purity of God.  Peter certainly knew about persecution and he finally got crucified upside down. In 1 Peter 2:20 it says, “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” Peter encouraged us to be kind, loyal and persevere even in the face of unjust treatment. By doing so, we can win others to Christ by setting a good example. Last week we learned that we can place ourselves in the wilderness and suffer due to our disobedience to God but sometimes we suffer as a result of this fallen world.  Peter is talking about suffering for doing good deeds. Jesus suffered this kind of persecution and it was God’s plan so that mankind would be saved from their sins. All who follow Jesus should be prepared to suffer and we should face that suffering with patience, calmness and confidence that God is in control of our future.

     When a church is pure and powerful and it moves out among the world, there is going to be a reaction. Praise God for that reaction because that prepares the church for doing wonderful things. This is acceptable with God and He planned it this way. It’s God’s will for Christians to suffer. The bible tells us in I Peter 4:14, “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” God’s will for our life is for us to be saved, (I Timothy 2:4); spirit filled (Ephesians 5:15); sanctified (I Thessalonians 4); and suffer (I Peter) the kind of suffering that is not self-imposed but rather, the kind of suffering that is the response of the system to our godliness. Matthew 5: 11-12 says, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” In Romans 8:17 “. . . we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” I believe there are special rewards in heaven for those who are willing to be bold and confront the world with a holy and powerful life and take whatever suffering comes about.

   God is willing to move in churches that have unity and purity where His holy power is free to operate.  He is ready to perform His greatest miracle of bringing converts into a new birth and add more souls into His kingdom. All He commands us to do is preach the gospel and spread the His good news to others.  He will do the rest.