Writing to the Thessalonians and recalling his soul-winning work among them, the Apostle Paul says: “remember … our labour and travail … because we preached unto you the gospel.” (1 Thess 2:9)
The expression “travail” here denotes the toil, labour, and weariness involved in bringing those men and women at Thessalonica to a personal knowledge of Christ. Souls are not easily won – despite the impression given by glamorous modern evangelism. Men and women are born into the kingdom of God with tears and travail.
This concern for the lost is not a matter of emotion on a purely human level. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, as we deliberately accept the fellowship of suffering, and through ever-increasing knowledge of Christ, learn something of God’s mind and heart. The meaning of His cross. The value He sets on the human soul. The eternal doom of the lost. The nearness of His return. And the inestimable gain at the judgement which awaits the believer.
Frankly, I always doubt a Christian who claims he has no ministry of personal evangelism. Tears and prayers are the horse and carriage of Gospel witness. To be roaring lambs for Christ in the marketplace, we need to be broken bread and poured out wine when we talk to God in private. I have found that tears, fasting and supplication for souls are the real groundwork of evangelism. These are what prepare the hearts of the lost – through the work of the Holy Spirit – to listen with an open heart.
Don’t be intimidated. The Lord really does prepare hearts, and you will be pleasantly surprised at what people will understand about Christ when you have done your groundwork.
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For many people, the greatest problem in talking about Christ comes at two points: the beginning and the end. We don’t know how to introduce faith naturally into our conversation, and we don’t know how to conclude by inviting people to open their lives to Christ.
Why the reluctance?
It’s partly our natural hesitation to intrude on another person’s privacy. Clearly, the God described in Scripture does not want us to batter down doors with various forms of sales persuasion. If someone doesn’t want to talk, we can’t force him. But at the same time, if we love that person and believe Christ is the answer, we should be more concerned about his eternal salvation than about our own risk of embarrassment.
Another reason for our reluctance is the opposition of Satan, who doesn’t want people to hear the Gospel and be saved. We must be aware of this opposition, and with faith in the power of God, press ahead with the initiative God is calling us to take.
Let’s also realize there are no sure-fire gimmicks and techniques. Building the bridge of friendship, and watching for an opportune time, are more important than a dozen fancy methods of witnessing.
Jesus is often described as the great High Priest who opens the way to God. The Latin word for priest is pontifex, which means “bridge maker”. By dying, Jesus, the bridge maker, opened the way for us to come into God’s presence (1 Peter 3:18). Now Jesus has sent us to be bridge makers as He was.
Bridged makers have a genuine concern for people. Sometimes my biggest problem in witnessing is being so involved in my own affairs that I don’t have time to think of others. Jesus was “other-person centred.”
If our concern for people is so genuine that sometimes we are not even aware of the transition to verbal witness, people will be drawn like a magnet. Jesus was a “friend of sinners”. He was criticized more often for being too close to sinners than for being too remote from them!
If Christians want to be the salt of the earth, they must “get out of the salt-shaker”. Salt in the shaker never flavours anything. Furthermore, too much salt in one place tastes terrible and will make you sick. Jesus wants to scatter us as salt throughout the world.
So get out there and socialize. Make friends with non-Christians.
(From the book Practical Evangelism by Prakash Yesudian, pg 208-211)