A SAMPLE OF ENDORESMENTS The following are some of the endorsements for Julian’s 900+ page book called Evangelism: Strategies from Heaven In the War for Souls. Some people are daunted by such a big book so Julian made a small book out of each chapter of the 900+ page book. What you are about to read is just one of the chapters of the larger work.
David Cole, YWAM Campaigns Asia/Pacific Board of Regents Chairman University of the Nations.
“This book is one of the most in depth looks at what Evangelism really is (and what it isn’t) that I believe has been written in the last century. I have been so inspired in my own calling through its content and often use it as a text book for teaching and imparting to young leaders in YWAM training courses as well as throughout other parts of the Body of Christ. Thank you Julian not only for such a valuable resource as well as for modeling the outworking of its content in your own life over the past few decades.”
Pastor Mike Smith, Melbourne, Australia
“An incredible book that all pastors should read. I have been a Christian for 28 years and a pastor for many years, and when I picked up this book, I thought, I doubt this will teach me anything new about evangelism. I was so wrong. It has revolutionised my thinking. This is an incredible book that all pastors should read.”
Grant Buchanan LLB, B.Com, Auckland
“The best book I have ever read. I am a solicitor (54) and a partner in a law practice. I unhesitatingly give my endorsement for Julian s book. Indeed, I would rate it as the best book that I have ever read!” Grant Buchanan LLB, B.Com, Auckland
Michael Angulo, Pastor and Church Leader
“Truly a work of Ministerial art. I really like this book and every true evangelist will love it also. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PUT IT DOWN, BUT WILL BE THINKING WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO READ IT AGAIN! A truly very well written book with good retrospective learning ideas. No true evangelist should be without this book. It is worth what it is worth and it will catapult you into great, deliberate PROVEN, ministry approach. Great book and I highly recommend it. Get this one, you won’t be disappointed!”
Chapter Two
SEVEN DEADLY MOTIVES: exposing how the enemy is shutting DOWN EVANGELISM!
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Acknowledgements I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people for the production of this Mini Series: Sheryl Kampenhout, who transferred a mountain of material from Power Point shows into Word documents and who served and encouraged me in such a loving and kind way; to Matthew Old, a faithful friend and fellow evangelist, who has been a Barnabas. He reached out his hands when the hills seemed steepest, loved me in spite of my failures, stimulated me with his sharp mind, and made me laugh when I wanted to cry; to Janice Teo, and her intercessory prayer team who are as vital to the ministry I direct as the heart is to the body; to the team of editors, including Ken Francis and Julie Belding; to all the financial supporters who have given so generously to me over the years. I especially want to thank Paul and Tina Richards, of Club Physical, owners of a gymnasium chain in Auckland, New Zealand, and Derek van Beynen, who have faithfully sponsored my ministry for over a decade. Few people have the privilege of being able to leave secular work to write and produce resources to further the cause of the evangelisation of the world, and to motivate and equip the Church to do the same. You, and all my other financial supporters, have made this possible; to those I live with who have not seen me for years because I have been locked away in my office writing, I give my sincere thanks. Special thanks to Neil Pollock. To Jenny Windeyer, the graphic artist, who designed the cover of the original 800 page book (which we’ve turned into this Mini Series), and to Jenny’s husband Drew for going beyond the call of duty so that Jenny could focus on this project; to faithful Bernie Anderson who has sacrificed and given way beyond what a leader would expect of a dedicated co-worker; to Eleanor Goodall and Sue and George Jeffrey who epitomise love and true friendship; to the team at ESI for keeping all the various aspects of the evangelism ministry moving forwards whilst I directed most of my time to write this Mini Book Series; for Dr Martyn Bowis who did all the programming for the electronic version of the gospel called “Proclaim it!”; for Henoch Kloosterboeror for producing all the brilliant
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drawings; Dr David Stewart, retired Principal of the Bible College of New Zealand for nearly two decades of encouragement and mentoring; Denise James and Anne Bartley, staff at the Bible College of New Zealand for helping with research; all those who have helped proof read the manuscript and given comment, particularly Dr Marie Sewell, Gill Donald, Gill Lukey, Donna Hansen, Ainslie Vines, Ann Hunter, and Miriam and Ted Martin; to the academic staff of the Bible College of New Zealand for giving me a grounding in theology; for all those who have given financially and sacrificially to pay for specific aspects of the publishing of this Mini Book Series; for my friend Ray Comfort, for his inspiration and encouragement. There are few evangelists today who have journeyed on the road of trial and tribulation to achieve breakthrough as Ray Comfort. For John Stott, the academic evangelist for his coaching and input via his many books. For all the people who we have trained in evangelism around the world who are out there doing it – you are the heroes in the battle for souls; for the many hundreds of pastors, leaders, and lay Christians around the globe who have contributed to my life as a Christian, and to this Mini Book Series; and finally, I thank Jesus Christ, whose amazing grace and love has inspired and kept me. All the revelations in this Mini Book Library about evangelism and the gospel were given by Him – to Him be all the glory.
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How To Read The Mini Books In This Library This Mini Book is one of a Library of 27 Mini Books. The Library is a detailed critique of the battle between light and darkness which is relentlessly raging all over the earth for the souls of men and women. The insights and revelations in each Mini Book are hierarchical i.e. Mini Book Two builds upon Mini Book One, Mini Book Three upon Mini Books One and Two, and so on. Hence, the ideal is to try and read all the Mini Books in the library in sequence. If you skip Mini Books, or even parts of Mini Books, you might miss something vital, and open yourself to misunderstanding or even defeat. Having said this, after you have read Mini Books One to Seven, which are the foundational books in the Library, each Mini Book is designed to stand alone. So, read Books One to Seven first. This is essential. With respect to evangelism, if you follow the advice I am giving here in the pages of each Mini Book, you’ll position yourself perfectly to be used by the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus in ways you’d not imagined possible. How so? Read the 27 Mini Books in the library and find out. Along with Mini Books 1-7, I suggest you also purchase Mini Book 27, which is the “Evangelism Fitness Test.” This is a diagnostic survey which will tell you the extent to which you have been unwittingly influenced by the devil with respect to evangelism. Sit this test before you read anything. Then do the same test again after you have read all the Mini Books to check to see if all his devices have been thoroughly purged from your mind!
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Seven Deadly Motives: Exposing How The Enemy Is Shutting Down Evangelism
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ight now, for three reasons, the devil is shaking in his boots. First, tiny pockets of the Church in the West are waking up to the problem of the shameful decline in evangelism. Says researcher Martha Grace Reece:“Signs of change are emerging. Evidence affirms that pastors are beginning to recognise that we face a predicament with evangelism....they are beginning to say it out loud.”1 This awakening is a nightmare for the devil because he doesn’t want anyone to know the real state of evangelism in the West. Second, the devil knows that through these book you are about to receive insight into exactly how 98% of Christians in the West have been knocked out of doing evangelism. You might even be an influential, passionate, and committed Christian who could pass on what you are about to learn to countless other Christians which in turn might awaken them to doing evangelism. Such a thought terrifies the devil. Third, the devil also knows that if you put into practice everything you learn, you will find life and life in all its fullness (John 10:10). Once Christians find life from doing evangelism, they become the ones who are most likely to activate others. Now here’s an interesting thing - some Christians are going to 1
Martha Grace Reece. Unbinding The Gospel. Real Life Evangelism. Chalice Press. 2008, p.32
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miss out on what I am about to reveal in this book because they are averse to any literature which mentions the devil. They know he is a real being but they think that any mention of him is spooky, or that it gives him glory. Talking about him makes them feel uncomfortable. They seem quick to forget, however, that the greatest book of all time (i.e. the Bible) mentions him frequently, and that Jesus often talked and warned about him, as did Paul and the other biblical writers. The Bible takes him seriously, and I pray you do too. If you do, you are in the company of some very significant Christians. Who are these Christians?
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piritual giants also take the devil seriously...
It was the late Dr Francis Schaeffer who wrote: “Do we really believe we are engaged in a cosmic battle? Do we really believe there are ‘powers of this dark world’ which rule our age? Or as the Apostle John says, do we really believe ‘the whole world is under the control of the evil one’? (1 John 5:19). If we do not believe these things (and we must say that much of the evangelical world acts as if it does not believe these things), we certainly cannot expect to have much success in fighting the battle.”2 C.S Lewis is another intellectual who took the devil seriously. He wrote: “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”3 Theologian Paul Karleen says: “We can count on the fact that [the devil] is always opposed to the will of God in our lives – both for individuals and the 2
Dr Francis Schaeffer. The Great Evangelical Disaster. Crossway books, 1984, p.24
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Dr C.S Lewis. Christianity And Culture. Christian Reflections. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967, p.33
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local church, and any kind of ministry. His name (Satan means “adversary”) tells us that upfront… and he would like nothing more than for us to be oblivious of what he is up to. It is part of his plan.” 4
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heck out what the Bible says about him…
The Bible says of him, “Satan shall…go out and deceive” (Revelation 20:7-8, KJV). Speaking of Satan, Paul the Apostle said “…we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). Many Christians believe that Satan can no longer have any influence over them because they belong to Jesus. This is not what the Bible teaches. The devil is a real being, and he can hinder God’s purposes.5 “For we wanted to come to you — certainly I, Paul, did, again and again — but Satan stopped us” (1 Thessalonians 2:18). In fact his name also means ‘opposer.’ Missionary statesman, Oswald Sanders wrote: “[The devil] is uniformly regarded as a malignant, malicious personality, hostile to God and man, and working to thwart the Lord’s purposes.”6 What is the foremost ‘purpose of the Lord’ for His Church? It’s to complete His mission.7 In chapter six, you’ll discover that the mission Jesus gave us to complete is to ensure that every person on the earth hears and understands the gospel. That is to say, that everyone on the earth is evangelised, not just once but over and over. And what’s hindering the completion of His mission? 4 Sited in Logos Bible Software 2.1. Paul S. Karleen. The Handbook To Bible Study. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 5
Not ultimately, because God is sovereign.
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J Oswald Sanders. Satan Is No Myth. Moody Press, 1975, p.25
7 By mission, I mean the main thing. In 1969, NASA had a mission, which was to make sure America was the first nation in the world to have a man walk on the moon. To achieve the mission they had to do a lot of other things like build a lunar craft, build a rocket, train astronauts etc. In order to succeed with the mission, the ‘to do’ list for NASA was almost endless. But here’s the point - everything on the ‘to do’ list was for a reason, which was to succeed with the mission. Similarly, Jesus has commanded the Church to do a lot of things (e.g. pray, fast, live holy lives, give, serve, teach, disciple, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison etc etc), all for one great ultimate reason, which is the evangelisation of the world (our mission). How I came to this conclusion is detailed in chapter seven.
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Answer? The devil and his devices which are operating inside the Christian Church.
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he devil’s devices…
What are “devices” as the word is used in 2 Corinthians 2:11? “....for we are not ignorant of his devices.” The Enhanced Greek Lexicon describes devices as “thoughts, mental perceptions; an evil purpose.” Satan thinks, dreams and plans to frustrate evangelism. As I studied, prayed and researched Satan’s part in hindering evangelism in the West, it became obvious that all his devices focus on changing the way we think about evangelism, the gospel, our priorities, and a myriad of other issues related to evangelism. He knows that if he can deceive us by changing the way we think, he will change our behaviour (Proverbs 23:7). His devices appear to have been working with stunning success. They are so subtle that most Christians are completely unaware that their minds have been sown with them. As such, many believers are living nothing like the Christian life Jesus intended. Let me explain.
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iving the life…
One metaphor to describe the relationship between the work of the devil and the influence of his devices on Christians is to think of Christians as flowers and the Church as a garden. In a typical garden, flowers vary in health and vitality. It’s the same with the Church. A few Christians are blooming, making an impact, being mightily used by God. Sadly, many feel like they are limp, sickly flowers, not making much impact at all. So how can you be one of the bloomers? One key is to be active in evangelism. No matter how impacting and mighty your walk with Jesus is at the moment, if you haven’t been engaging in evangelism on a regular basis, you haven’t fully bloomed yet. Outside of 10
participating in evangelism, you’ll never reach the fullness of your potential in Christ. For you, the best is yet to come. Where does the Bible talk about this? Listen to Romans 10:15: “...how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the gospel.” The word ‘beautiful’ in this verse is the Greek word horaios (horah–yos) which refers to a flower in full bloom. This verse is in effect saying “...if you want to position yourself to fully bloom as a Christian, start evangelising.” So how do we get to become a fully blooming Christian? First, we need to be planted in weed-free soil. Most Christians, however, with respect to evangelism, are like flowers overgrown with a thick, dense mat of toxic weeds. Each weed represents a deadly device planted in our minds by the devil to hinder evangelism. Under these conditions, flowers have no hope of reaching their epitome of health and vitality, and blooming. For Christians to mobilise for evangelism and fully bloom, the weeds have to be cleared – and kept clear. As we progress through these book, we will identify each weed (i.e. each device of the enemy), name it, and show how to eradicate it. As such, chapter in this book is like spiritual herbicide. It will clear the weeds in your thinking about evangelism so that you can be a bloomer in the garden of God’s Church. The Holy Spirit is going to use this series to bring you out from under the devil’s influence. While there are many factors which contribute to a Christian reaching the fullness of their potential in Christ, let me tell you, no Christian will ever achieve this outside of active participation in evangelism (Mark 8:35). The good news is that if you are a pastor you can literally create a flourishing Great Commission church! But first you as the leader of your church must discover the 11
devices. Then you must help the people in your church discover them. Then together, you must work hard to systematically eliminate them.8
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or starters, here are two devices of the devil which hinder evangelism…
First, the devil has us imagining we as a Church in the West are doing a lot of evangelism. But if research shows only 2% of us are doing it, not much evangelism is actually going on. I have heard many leaders announce triumphantly from the front “We are evangelising the world!” But on what basis can they say this? There is no basis. It’s just hype springing forth from our fertile imaginations. When leaders make such announcements those listening get the impression the job of evangelising the world is being done by others. We reason “Everyone else is doing such a great job, they don’t need me!” and so justify personal non-involvement in evangelism. We tell ourselves, “I must be unusual because I know I’m not one of the people doing evangelism, but that’s all right, because if my leader just said ‘we are doing a great job evangelising the world!’ plenty of others must be being obedient!” If the devil cons everyone in the Western Church into thinking like this, and if we do not cross-check with one another to verify our assumptions, it is easy to see how evangelism in the West has declined so dramatically. Second, Satan has us believing that New Zealand, Britain, Australia and the United States, and every other Western country, has already been evangelised. We read certain mission maps and exclaim, “Great! The job is done in the West! Everyone has heard the gospel! Look, there are churches on every street corner! They 8 At this point, go to chapter 27, and complete the Evangelism Battle Fitness Test. This test will assess how ready you are right now, to enter the battle for souls and win.
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can watch Christian TV and listen to Christian radio. Surely all the non-Christians in our country have heard the gospel! How could they not hear!?” We know from chapter one that this is a completely false assumption. The way to defeat the devil with this one is to accept the truth that the West is a lost tribal group. Let me say it plainly and simply - the vast majority of people in the West have not heard and understood the gospel.9 These are just two devices. This book reveals another 84. At this point many Christians have asked: “Why is the devil so interested in stopping evangelism and the gospel? Why does the Bible say of him, ‘The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:4)? Why are there no verses which show that he picks on prayer, or good works, or worship, or signs and wonders and miracles, or Bible reading, or some other aspect of Christian life?” These are critical questions and when we examine his motives we’ll receive the answers. So what motivates our adversary to stop the gospel? To stop evangelism? The devil has seven motives. Dr Michael Green uncovers the first two.10
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OTIVE ONE: He wants the glory…
First, the devil hinders the gospel because he wants pride of place in the universe. He wants the glory. He hates the gospel because proclaiming or spreading it is the greatest way to bring glory to Jesus. You’ll read more about how evangelising is the greatest way to bring glory to Jesus in chapter twenty. The gospel also exposes the devil as a liar and deceiver and he doesn’t want 9 How do I really know this? I have reached literally 10’s of thousands of non-Christians in these countries in the last 30 years and can tell you categorically, they have never heard the gospel. In research terms, a sample of 10’s of thousands would be considered a very good sample size. That is to say, the resuls of the sample would mirror what is really the truth about those not in the sample i.e. the rest of the population. 10 Dr Michael Green. I Believe In Satan’s Downfall. Hodder and Stoughton, 1999. pp. 62-63
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this fact published. As you read this series, you’ll see how he lies and deceives. What you are about to read is mind boggling. Put your seat belt on and get ready!
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OTIVE TWO: He wants territory…
Secondly, the devil hinders the gospel because through it spiritual territory or the ownership of souls is lost. To the devil, souls are like real estate. He wants to own and have control of the lot. All people are born into the kingdom of darkness and Satan wants to keep them there. When non-Christians are won to Jesus, not only does Satan lose territory (i.e souls) but the pool of potential proclaimers of the gospel also increases. To regain territory lost to Jesus, he tries to entice Christians to backslide. The devil knows that when Christians wilfully and completely renounce Jesus, he regains precious real estate. He knows that the gospel is the most powerful weapon given to the Church for winning souls (Romans 1:16). So, for the sake of preserving territorial advantage, and increasing it, he must make sure the message of the gospel does not get out.
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OTIVE THREE: He wants to delay the end of his life…
The devil wants to preserve his life. Let me explain. In Mark 13:10 and Matthew 24:14, Jesus speaks about His Second Coming, explaining that one of the conditions for His return is that everyone11 has heard and understood the gospel. Please listen to the words of eminent theologian and author, Dr Millard Erickson: 11 H ow can literally everyone be evangelised? They can’t. So I interpret “all” in the verse to mean the people in this generation who are able to hear and understand the gospel. This would obviously exclude the very old, the very young, and those with mental problems or certain sicknesses like dementia. For these people, hearing and understanding the gospel would not be possible. In chapter ten, I explain how, mathematically at least, it is feasible to have everyone (with exceptions) on the earth hear and understand the gospel. To evangelise a whole generation requires the mobilisation of a large number of Christians who are willing and able to obey Jesus’ command to go into the world and proclaim or spread the gospel.
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“Certain events have to transpire before the Second Coming; for example... the gospel would have to be preached to all nations.”12 Let’s look at Mark 13:10: “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations…”13 Now Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” ‘Whole world’ means everyone. To what is ‘the end’ referring in Matthew? It’s the Second Coming of Jesus. And what must happen before He comes again? Everyone must hear the gospel14. And what’s going to happen to the devil at the Second Coming? Check out Revelation 20:10: “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” By carefully piecing these scriptures together, the message becomes clear. When everyone has heard the gospel, one of the conditions of the Second Coming will have been fulfilled. And when Jesus comes again, the devil, who is presently roaming the world like a lion wreaking havoc (1 Peter 5:8), will be cast into the lake of fire. If you were the devil and you knew the plan of God outlined in these Scriptures, wouldn’t you work tirelessly to prevent unbelievers from hearing the gospel? And to prevent believers from proclaiming or spreading it? 12 In chapter four, I discuss the difference between the missions task of the Church, and the evangelism task. They are very different, and we need to know the difference. 13 T he Greek word here is ‘ethnos’ which means people groups. What’s the message? God wants us to make a priority of reaching every people group with the gospel, and then to reach every individual in each people group. More about this is coming in chapter four. 14 They do not have to believe. They just have to hear and understand the gospel. This is a key point. Belief comes from God alone. Our job is to proclaim and spread the gospel. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit to bring belief.
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The devil knows the implications of Christians living out Mark 13:10 and Matthew 24:14. He also knows what is written in Revelation 20:10. Satan knows that if he can thwart the gospel being preached to every people group (the mission’s task), and every person within every people group (the evangelism task), he can delay his sulphurous end. You’d think these first three motives would be sufficient, but there are four more.
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OTIVE FOUR: He wants to foster disobedience…
He knows that if Christians don’t know what evangelism is, they won’t do it. If they don’t know what the gospel is, they won’t proclaim it. And not doing evangelism, they will be living in disobedience to the priority of Jesus.
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OTIVE FIVE: He hates seeing people saved…
The more people who are saved, the more potential proclaimers of the gospel there will be. And the more potential proclaimers the faster the world will be evangelised. And remember, when the whole world has heard the gospel, one of the major conditions for the Second Coming will have been met. You’ll remember what this means for the devil.
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OTIVE SIX: He wants to rob Christians of life in all its fullness…
Another motivation for the devil is that he wants to rob Christians of a rich source of real life in Jesus. Those who evangelise find a potent source of life in their Christian walk.15 Those who don’t have no idea this source of joy is available. According to the late Dr Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, the largest ministry in the world, 15 Of course, sometimes proclaiming the gospel can lead to persecution and death. Nonetheless, those who
have suffered in this way for the sake of the gospel have usually done so joyously, considering it a privilege.
For example, Acts 5:40-42
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“After many years of working with thousands of Christians, I am convinced that one cannot enjoy the full and abundant life which is our heritage in Jesus Christ apart from the proper balance between Bible study, prayer and sharing Christ with others. Apart from the regular sharing of your faith in Jesus Christ with others, Bible study and prayer can often lead to a spiritually frustrating and impotent life.”16 Those are words of truth. Note them well. Lee Strobel, a former legal editor for the Chicago Tribune, Christian apologist and former teaching pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, writes: “The unparalleled adventure of evangelism begins when you are equipped to share your faith and then take risks to do it… once you begin to live out the evangelistic mission God has given you, you will never want to go back to being a mere armchair spectator in the most important enterprise on the planet.”17 John Piper puts it like this: “Giving the gospel away is one of the best ways of experiencing its power in your own life. The best way to taste the power of God for your own soul is to venture something on it.”18 he devil wants you busy or bored… He would never want you to find out that evangelism can bring a joy like no other activity – “life in all its fullness,” as John 10:10 puts it. He would rather your Christian life was mundane and routine, pleasantly busy but without risk or danger. But a Christian life without risk and danger and plenty of interaction with the lost world is not an authentic Christian life. Sadly, many Christians trudge from conversion to death without ever experiencing the thrill which comes from regularly engaging in
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16 Dr Bill Bright. How To Walk In The Spirit. Campus Crusade for Christ Inc., 1971, p.29 17 Cited in: Zacharias et al. This We Believe. The Good News Of Jesus Christ For The World. Zondervan, 2000, p.202 18 http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper88/pipe001b.htm
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evangelism. If this critical element is missing, the Christian life risks becoming nothing more than an endless meaningless routine (an EMR): going to church on Sunday, singing three fast songs and two slow ones, giving a tithe, listening to notices, praying for this and that, listening to a good message, singing a closing song, and finishing with a cup of tea and a muffin down the back whilst chatting to our friends. In addition to this, some might attend a Life Group (i.e. a Bible study) one evening during the week, and the odd conference during the year. Seriously, is this all Jesus died for? Is that it? Did Jesus die for us to live an EMR life? How tragic if this is so. Surely, we were saved for more than this?
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ow to know God’s blessing in every area of your life...
In his book The Heavenly Man, Brother Yun chronicles the phenomenal growth of the church in China, and highlights the connection between proclaiming the gospel and experiencing joy. After experiencing persecution and seeing the death of fellow believers followed by revival in China, Brother Yun visited the West. Comparing our way of doing church with the way they did it in China, he concluded: “The first thing needed for revival to return is the word of the Lord. Sure, there are many preachers and tapes and videos of Bible teaching, but so little contains the sharp truth of God’s word. It’s only when we in obedience share the gospel with people that we come to know God’s blessing in every area of our lives. This is why the apostle Paul wrote to his co-worker Philemon, ‘I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ Jesus.’”19 19 Brother Yun with Paul Hathaway. The Heavenly Man. The Remarkable True Story Of Chinese Christian Brother Yun. Monarch Books, 2002, pp.296-7
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Let’s invert this verse from Philemon so that it reads as follows: “I pray you may be inactive in sharing your faith so that you will have a shrivelled understanding of every good thing we have in Christ Jesus.” You get my point. Those who are not doing evangelism don’t know what they don’t know. The devil wants to keep them in this state. ther Scriptures which link evangelism with Christian life… Another Scripture which links proclaiming the gospel with experiencing joy is Mark 8:35: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” Then there is Mark 10:29-31: “...no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields, and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” The Greek word for ‘gospel’ in this verse is the same as in Mark 16:15, and so we know Jesus is referring to those who evangelise. No other command of God comes with such lavish promises! Jesus didn’t say to leave those things behind, “for Me and prayer,” or “for Me and good works,” or “for Me and worship” or “for Me and signs and wonders.” He specifically said, “…for Me and the gospel.”
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OTIVE Seven: He wants to steer Christians away from being Christ-like, to encourage pastors to build their churches on foundations of sand, and to grieve the Spirit…
His final motive has to do with Truth. Truth is a compass for Christians. The Bible tells us what is Truth and what is not Truth. Jesus said of Himself that He is “The Truth” (John 14:6). He said that if we walk in the Truth, we’ll not only be set free but we’ll prove we are His disciples. Just look at this amazing 19
Scripture: “So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). John also said in 3 John 1:4 : “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” Why did John say this? Please think about this. The goal of the Christian life is to achieve Christ likeness, isn’t it? Yes it is. Because Jesus is the Truth, the more a man or a woman walks in Truth, the more Christlike they are. I met a pastor recently who said “Julian, I want you to come and teach our church about evangelism, but don’t go defining terms like ‘evangelism’ or ‘the gospel’. It will create division and controversy.” What this pastor said was astonishingly foolish. How so? The meaning of ‘evangelism’ and ‘the gospel’ can be clearly defined in Scripture. i.e. we can know the Truth about what ‘evangelism’ and ‘the gospel’ mean. By recognising that defining terms will create controversy, this pastor is admitting that there are many unbiblical definitions of ‘evangelism’ and ‘the gospel’ floating around in his church. That is to say, that many people in his church are not walking in the truth of these terms. What’s concerning is that he is happy to let this situation continue. Pastors are called to resist the devil, and flee from him, and help their people do the same. James the Apostle would say to this pastor “Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). This pastor is not resisting the devil, and he’s not submitting to God, through His Word. He is actually accommodating the devil. What would John the Apostle say to this pastor? Let’s invert 3 John 1:4 to find out. John would say “I have no greater sorrow than to hear that my children are not walking in the truth.” If all 20
of the Bible is God’s Word, and it is, then Jesus would agree with John. As such, Jesus would be filled with sorrow to hear what this pastor said. Because Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One, the Spirit would be grieved also. And when the Spirit is grieved, the sense of His presence leaves. And if the sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit leaves a church for long enough, that Church eventually becomes a dead church. And if a church is dead for very long, the people in it will begin to scatter (i.e. leave the church, and even the faith). Can you see how foolish this pastor was to say what he said? He is saying to the devil “It’s Ok for you to camp in my church. I am ok with that, as long as there is peace and harmony.” But really, peace and harmony based on error is no peace at all. Rather, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’s building a spiritual foundation on sand. When true adversity comes, that building is going to crash with a mighty crash. (e.g. Matthew 7:24-27). According to this parable, anyone who builds their life or church on sand is ‘a fool.’ The same underlying problem prompted Jeremiah to cry “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). Knowing these seven motives of the devil ought to fuel our desire to define our terms carefully, and mobilise everyone in our churches to walk in the Truth about ‘evangelism’ and ‘the gospel’. After all 2 Timothy 2:15 says “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” This pastor is not doing his best to be approved by God. As such, the Apostle Paul would say he ought to feel ashamed because he is incorrectly handling the Word of Truth. There are just so many reasons to activate for evangelism, not least of which is playing a part in ushering in the Second Coming of Jesus and the final destruction of Satan. I have often wondered 21
why those involved in Christian social action don’t do evangelism alongside their excellent works. I know some do, but the bald truth is that most don’t. For if they did, they’d be helping to put a final end to the person who is creating the need for social action in the first place! They’d be the fence at the top of the cliff, rather than the ambulance at the bottom. You see, social action deals with the fruit of Satan’s work (e.g. poverty, nakedness, injustice, slavery, the sex trade etc), but doing evangelism deals with the root - changing the hearts of the people causing the fruit, and ultimately the destruction of Satan himself. Most Christians are completely unaware of the benefits and the spiritual implications of evangelising the world which I have unveiled in this chapter.20 Worst of all, most Christians now no longer believe that the evangelisation of the world is Jesus’ priority. In this respect, as you’ll read in Chapter Seven, they are completely out of sync with Jesus, Paul, the Apostles, and the rest of the Biblical writers. Today, the priority of evangelising the world has been replaced by a plethora of alternatives: “Let your light shine!” say some. “Build relationships!” “Serve!” “Pray and intercede!” “Be hospitable!” “Live a life of integrity and love!” “Stand up for justice!” “Social action!” “Worship!” “Seek the presence of God!” “Feed the hungry!” “Fast!” 20 In chapter Twenty One, I explore fully how evangelism blesses society.
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“Live holy lives!” “Be generous and kind!” “Live by faith!” “Signs and wonders!” “Preach the Word!” “Fight for the poor!” “Be loving!” “Make disciples!”21 “Demonstrate the Kingdom for the lost to see!” say others. Let me be very clear at this point. Every one of these behaviours is extremely important in the process of drawing non-Christians closer to Jesus. All these behaviours are the commands of Jesus. Whenever non-Christians are drawn to Jesus, one or more of these behaviours will be ‘in the mix.’ Over and over again, Christians will testify that before they came to Christ, observing some or all of these behaviours in another Christian helped them come to the point of conversion. They are all part of God’s plan to draw people to Himself. Yet, in Chapter Six, we’ll learn exactly why the evangelisation of the world is Jesus’ priority. For Him, it’s the main thing. It’s our mission. With all that I have written so far in this chapter, it is easy to understand why Jesus’ last words to the disciples were “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15) and “you shall be my witnesses”22 (Acts 1:8). 21 One could argue that “making disciples” is the priority of the Christian Church. I would agree but only if the disciples we are making make a priority of the evangelisation of the world! Do you get the point? The truth is that today, most “discipleship” programs don’t even mention evangelism, let alone train people to do it, or teach that it’s the priority. This is how bad things have got. 22 The word “witness” in this verse is widely misunderstood. It’s a legal word. In short it means to testify as in a court to the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and speak about the salvation significance of these events. It also means to speak about how these events have changed one’s own life. In other words, to “witness” means primarily to proclaim the gospel.
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If the final words of great people are to be taken seriously, how much more so the final words of Jesus to His Church? The truth is, we haven’t taken Jesus’ last words seriously at all. Rather, we have taken matters into our own hands. We have decided other things are the priority. We have acted like we are God and omniscient. But we are not God. Speaking of God’s greatness and our puny insignificance, Isaiah said: “Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? (Isaiah 2:22). So on what authority, or on what basis can we say to Him “Sorry Jesus. We are going to ignore your final words and your priority because we have different ideas than you about how best to run your Church and interact with the lost world.” Going by the research, 98% of us are now saying this. Now here’s the big question - how are we going to shift the thinking of leaders in the Church in the West to get back in sync with Jesus? i.e. back to how it was in the Early Church when virtually 100% of believers were active in evangelism? Answer? We are going to have to go to war - to war in the Spirit.
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he war in the Spirit is on…
As I said in Chapter One, there is a colossal contest going on in the spiritual world over the evangelisation of the world. On one side is the devil and his devices. On the other side Jesus and the Church. In the great valley in between are the souls of men and women, and the glory of God. Ultimately, these are the prizes of our warfare. This book is therefore a battle manual. In Chapter One, we detailed the extent of the problem. In this Chapter, we’ve looked at the devil’s motives. Now what? Our next step is to know our enemy and the rest of his 84 devices. 24
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o win this war, we must know our enemy…
In military circles, it is well known that knowing the enemy is critical for success. Writing in the 4th century BC, the Chinese scholar Sun Tzu clearly recognised the centrality of accurate and timely information for the military commander. “First among these is knowing your enemy. The more accurate one’s picture of the enemy the better.”23 From here on in, you’ll be faced with two choices. First, you could read this book, have your eyes opened to the devices and the solutions, and then take positive action i.e start evangelising and help others start. Second, you could have your eyes opened to the devices and the solutions, but turn a blind eye to them i.e. live in denial. I pray to God that you don’t choose the latter! Researcher Martha Grace Reece gives wise advice here: “The most dangerous way to face a serious threat or a dangerous situation is to ignore it, to be unconscious of it, to pretend it isn’t there. This is the way many of us have dealt with evangelism. We haven’t felt good about it, so we pushed the thought into the back of our minds for later, or for someone else to think about! Many of us are still so overwhelmed with our churches’ smaller numbers and lower funding that we trundle along concentrating on ‘business as usual.’ Ask any corporate executive, psychologist, doctor, or spiritual director what the first step to change is. Chances are the answer will be, ‘first you have to recognise there is a problem. Then you can do something about it.”’24 My prayer is that by now, as a result of reading Chapter One, you’ll recognise that there is a serious problem in the Western Church. 23 Carl Von Clausewitz. On War. (Translated by Col. J. J. Graham.) Penguin Books, 1968, p.163 24 Martha Grace Reece. Unbinding The Gospel. Real Life Evangelism. Chalice Press. 2008, p.26
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Thankfully, as I pointed out at the beginning of this Chapter, tiny pockets of leaders in the West are waking up to the evangelism crisis and are at least starting to talk openly about it. If you are presently not one of this group, I am asking you to join them. Pastors, leaders at every level of the Church, elders, deacons, and evangelists, you are the key players in this war. You can influence a lot of people for or against evangelism. Through your influence you can either lead people into the evangelisation of the world (i.e. be a positive influence) or out of it (i.e. be a negative influence). Unfortunately, there is no fence with this one. You are either for the evangelisation of the world and doing evangelism, or against it, and not doing it. In Matthew 12:30 Jesus said clearly “He who is not with me is against me, and He who does not gather with me scatters abroad.” Commenting on this verse, scholar and Bible teacher Dr William Barclay writes “In this one piercing sentence, Jesus lays down the impossibility of neutrality. In this war against Satan’s strongholds, there are only two sides, for Christ or against Him, gathering with him or scattering with Satan. If our presence does not strengthen the Church [i.e. the mission] then our absence is weakening it. There is no halfway house. If a nation is at war, then the neutral nation is an enemy by withholding the help it might have given. In all things in this world a man has to choose his side. Abstention from choice, suspended action, is no way out, because the mere refusal to give one side assistance is in fact the giving of support to the other.”25 Did we get that? We can’t be neutral! Pastor and leader, I am talking to you now. You and your church can’t be neutral with this one. You and your church are either for Jesus’ mission or against it. 25 William Barclay. The Gospel of Matthew. Saint Andrews Press. Edinburgh. 1974. p.44
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I have devoted Chapter Fifteen to showing you exactly how you can mobilise yourself and everyone else in your church for evangelism. Make the effort to contact us as a ministry. We’ll walk the journey with you and help you. But we can’t take this action for you. It’s up to you to make contact with us to get the ball rolling.
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ummary
• We ought to take the devil seriously, as Jesus did. • The devil has orchestrated the collapse of evangelism in the West yet God has given us the resources to fix the crisis. All He needs is our willing co-operation. • 98% of Christians are being directly influenced by the devil with respect to evangelism. They are completely unaware of this fact. • Jesus said He would not come again until everyone on earth has heard the gospel. At the Second Coming the devil will be cast into the Lake of Fire. At the moment he’s roaring around the earth wreaking havoc. So to preserve his life, he must stop gospel proclamation (Matthew 24:14). • God can and does use many different things to save people. However, He has ordained the gospel message as His centre piece in the process of drawing non-Christians to Himself. • The devil has seven motivations to cause the shut down of the evangelisation of the world. • Pastors and leaders are currently either helping or hindering the mobilisation of their people back into evangelism. There is no middle ground. • For church leaders, the first step towards mobilising 100% of their people back into evangelism is to recognise there is a problem. Then it’s to determine to do something about it. • CTION POINT: You might be saying at this point, “How can I help?” Here are some things you can do. Publish as widely as possible the issues raised in this book. Email
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this Chapter to everyone on your address book (or if you are a leader, everyone in your church) and encourage them to do the same. Send them a PDF file. If you are reading a hard copy of this Chapter, you can obtain a PDF copy by sending an email to julian@esisite.com. “How can pastors, leaders, and evangelists have a negative influence?” you might ask. The answer may surprise you. The most deadly way darkness has been able to spread his devices is to work through unwitting church leaders. He figured, “How else will I get to the people in the pews?” His success with this strategy has been absolutely phenomenal. In the next few Chapters, you’ll learn exactly how he has managed to do this. Come with me now into Chapter Three. I am going to take you on an expedition deep into the battle, and uncover some of his major devices which are stopping you and everyone in your church from doing evangelism. Are you ready?
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Real Life Story Being Relevant is not as Hard as You Think
Dr Scott Cameron is a medical doctor living in Blenheim, New Zealand. He is passionate about mission, both local and international. I became a Christian at age eighteen, in July 1991, and since then have felt a desire and responsibility to share my faith with others. I struggled with this and at the same time was perplexed as to why not many others in the Church were feeling the same way. I too bought into the commonly accepted definitions of evangelism either as any Christian activity with an outward focus, or else as ‘winning souls.’ I would invite people along to a seeker service perhaps, or just drop the fact that I was a Christian into conversation and hope it would provoke inquiry. I was brought up in a traditional Christian home with good values and role models, but seeking to actively share your faith with others was frowned upon as an intrusion into their privacy 29
and could even risk putting them off the whole thing. Also the concepts of hell and of judgment were taboo, and the focus was very much on love and tolerance. I would often hear the quote from St Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.” This, along with the fact that no one I knew was sharing their faith, somehow comforted me in my lack of active evangelism. If I am honest, however, I always felt there should be more to the Christian life than this. I have since found out that Saint Francis never said these words. Someone made up what he said, and sowed the idea into the Church and it spread. Then Julian Batchelor came to our church in Palmerston North, New Zealand, to run some training seminars on evangelism, and so I went along out of interest to see what he had to say. I was expecting the usual teaching and encouragement, but was soon challenged that this guy was actually approaching strangers and sharing the gospel in day to day situations – with results – and expecting us to do the same! At the same time his teaching was liberating. Converting people is God’s job. Our role is to be the messengers. I had also been to many church meetings and events that were trying to make the church relevant to nonbelievers, in order to 30
fulfil the Great Commission. One day it struck me that if we as individuals went out and engaged the non-churched world with the gospel (i.e. just went out and did what Jesus told us to do) we would naturally be in touch with where non-Christians were at. So instead of trying to become relevant to fulfil the Great Commission, if we just went out and did evangelism, we would naturally become relevant. Now back to the evangelism training seminar. As it got to the point where I was about ready to try the tool on someone, I was really freaked out. Also I was confronted with the reality of hell as a real place where real people go. I remember going to sleep one night, sick to my stomach thinking about who I was going to approach to try out this tool, and I woke at about 5 am in tears. It was as if God were saying to me, “Look Scott, it isn’t about you, and it’s not even about this tool you are learning to use. It is about these people you see every day who I love and died for and who don’t know Me. If this tool helps you tell them about Me then use it.” I remember that morning as clear as a bell. Since then I have been using the tools that Julian has developed. My first few times went really badly, and if I hadn’t understood the difference between sowing and reaping I would most likely have given up then. To be honest, I have actually never felt I had the gift of evangelism. I would call myself an evangeliser more than an evangelist. I am someone “doing the work of an evangelist” like Timothy in the New Testament. I still get nervous when 31
sharing with people, and especially struggle with sharing with workmates and family. But I now know that even if I’m not an Ephesians 4:11 evangelist, I still have the responsibility to share the gospel. I had also thought we didn’t have the right to share the gospel with others unless explicitly invited to do so. Now I realise the gospel is God’s message (not mine or the Church’s) to His Creation, and that He has actually commanded us to share that message. We not only have the right, but also the responsibility to share it with a lost and dying world. In recent years I have travelled to several different countries doing medical mission work, and have seen the power of the gospel in action. It occurred to me one day that the death rate in poor countries like India, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia etc, is actually the same as in Western countries – 100 percent! If I focus only on healing people’s bodies I am wasting my time really. I have also noticed that in countries where there is still knowledge of the basics of Christianity, people are a lot more ‘ripe for harvest,’ unlike in New Zealand. Here the challenge is to roll up our sleeves and get busy doing the hard and often non-rewarding work of sowing the seed of the gospel – always with an eye and a desire for harvesting if a person is ripe for it, but really just being faithful to 32
what our Lord has commanded us to do. I invite you to join me in these End Times in doing just that... If what I have written here resonates with you, I’d love to talk to you so please email me scott.cameron@inspire.net.nz
Julian’s comments.
Scott gives tremendous insight into the psyche of a believer. The number of devices he was carrying were significant: 1. Pressure from his parents not to evangelise. From them he learned to evangelise was an intrusion into the lives of nonChristians, it might put them off, and the mention of hell was taboo. 2. Negative peer group pressure from fellow church members i.e. no one else appeared to be doing evangelism. Understanding ‘evangelism’ to be the winning of souls. 3. The negative influence of ‘seeker services’ where Christians are advised not to challenge non-Christians in any way. And seeing the gospel is designed to challenge, seeker services had a dampening down effect towards evangelism for Scott. 4. The quote from Saint Francis which he Saint Francis didn’t ever say. 5. No one told Scott friends and family are hardest to reach of all because, as Jesus said, “the prophet is not accepted in his own home town” (e.g. Luke 4:24ff) 6. We have no right to share the gospel unless we are invited to do so. These are six devices, sloshing around in Scott’s mind! It’s an absolute full blown New Testaement miracle that he made it to the seminar! This explains why it is such a great challenge to get 33
people from churches in front of the teaching in this Mini Series. The solution is to teach ‘The six lost Truths’ (these are the top six devices of the devil) on a Sunday morning when everyone is in church. The fact is, Scott didn’t know what he didn’t know, and when he found out what he didn’t know, he was set free. Praise God!
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L i s t
o f
D e v i c e s
According to the Greek in 2 Corinthians 2:11, a ‘device’ is a thought, a plan, or a scheme of the devil. The devil has sown ‘devices’ into the minds of believers all over the globe to stop them evangelising. These devices have been so successful, that now only 2% of Christians in the West ‘do’ evangelism. Below is a list of the devices we have discovered so far. MINI BOOK 3
1 2
To mess up our definition of the word evangelism
3 4
To have us believe that evangelism equals the winning of souls
To have us believe that personal opinion has as much authority as sound scholarship To have us believe that every activity that brings a non-Christian closer to the point of conversion is evangelism MINI BOOK 4
5 6
To have us believe that we are evangelising when we do good works.
7
Manipulate Christians into viewing evangelism as a team event where only one or two members in the team actually do evangelism
8
To blur the distinction between ‘sharing your faith’ and ‘proclaiming the gospel’
9 10
Have us misinterpret Matthew 24:14
To blur the distinction in the minds of Christians between normal and nonnormal evangelism
Mess up our definition of the word ‘witnessing’ MINI BOOK 6
11 12
Have us proclaim ‘other gospels’ instead of THE gospel Cause Christians to confuse the words of the gospel with its works and effects
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13
Blur the distinction between the general use of the term ‘gospel’ and its sharply-defined New Testament use.
14 15
Persuade us that the words of the gospel cannot be defined
16
If Jesus intended ‘hell’ to be a necessary component of gospel preaching, the New Testament writers would have made this truth clear in their writings. Acts and Paul do not mention hell at all. How can we then say “hell is a necessary component of gospel preaching” when it appears on the surface that the Apostles and Early Church don’t mention it in their preaching?
To persuade us to water down the words of the gospel in order to preserve unity.
MINI BOOK 7
17
To scramble the priorities of the Christian Church MINI BOOK 9
18 19 20
Persuade Christians they are inadequate
21
To convince us that by leading a good life and being a positive example for others is to be equated with evangelism
22
To persuade Christians that they are incompetent in evangelism so they will say nothing
23 24
To persuade us our faith is a private matter and should not be shared
25
To persuade us that God sometimes says things to us personally that
26
To persuade us that ‘love is the ultimate thing’ and that the most powerful way to express our love for non-Christians is not to preach the gospel but to meet their practical needs
27
To persuade us we should not share the gospel unless our life backs up the message
28 29
To persuade us we should not share the gospel unless our motives are right
To misquote great Christians from history To persuade Christians they must earn the right to speak into someone’s life before sharing the gospel with them
To persuade us that God is there primarily to bless us and prosper us. Doing His will and serving His purposes are secondary contradict what is written in the Bible
To persuade us we should not share the gospel with strangers. We should befriend one or two people and walk with them until they become Christians. Why? This enables them to witness our life not just hear our message. The success of our gospel message is dependent on people witnessing the authenticity of our lives
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MINI BOOK 11
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To persuade us that evangelism is a process MINI BOOK 12
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Have us think we are proclaiming “the” gospel when really it’s been another gospel we have been communicating
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Have us pay little attention to delivery issues so we give “the” gospel a bad name and stop using it
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Have us over-react to the charge we are all talk and no walk
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Convince leaders to create a new image of Christianity where the hard sayings of Jesus and the evangelisation of the world are taboo MINI BOOK 16
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To persuade leaders that making a point of doing personal evangelism regularly is legalism
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To persuade leaders that if they find evangelism difficult it must not be their calling, and that personal evangelism should be left to those with the gift
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To convince leaders that evangelism need only be a passive activity
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To persuade leaders that when the gospel is proclaimed and there is no immediate result, the exercise was a waste of time and resources
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To persuade leaders that all roads lead to God
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To persuade leaders to view evangelism like a business venture. If we don’t see souls saved and won into our church immediately, we close down the business
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To persuade leaders that people who have never heard the gospel will eventually be saved anyway
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To substitute evangelism for sustained prayer, intercession, and fasting
To dupe leaders into assuming that everyone under their care and authority knows the biblical definitions of ‘evangelism’ and ‘the gospel’
To target leaders with extreme Calvinism and an unbiblical understanding of the theology of grace
To make leaders afraid of being less than competent and afraid of opposition from non-Christians MINI BOOK 17
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To persuade leaders to delay equipping their people for evangelism until they are ready i.e. “on fire”
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To persuade leaders that personal evangelism is too confrontational
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To persuade some leaders that the only valid form of evangelism is one in which signs and wonders follow
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To persuade leaders that worship in a church is evangelism
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To persuade leaders that when we die our souls are simply snuffed out and that hell is not a place of eternal conscious torment
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To persuade leaders to equate evangelism with discipleship
To persuade leaders the most effective way to evangelise the world is through big events and tent-type meetings
MINI BOOK 18
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To persuade leaders that personal testimony and evangelism are the same thing
54 55
To persuade leaders that the gospel is not as powerful as the Bible makes out
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To whisper in the ear of leaders “the simple gospel message cannot effectively penetrate the post modern mind”
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To persuade Christians they do not need to check that the non-Christian has understood the gospel message – that it is enough merely to proclaim it
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To persuade leaders it is not biblical to talk about hell in an effort to move non-Christians towards the point of conversion
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To persuade Christian leaders the most important thing to tell non-Christians is “Jesus loves you”
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To cause local church leaders to resent evangelists and cause evangelists to resent Christians who don’t evangelise
To whisper in the ear of a leader “the reason the gospel works for Billy Graham, Bonnke and Edwards was that they were special people with the gift. You don’t have the gift so there is no point in you proclaiming it.”
MINI BOOK 19
61
Have leaders who are evangelising mix regularly with non-evangelising leaders
62 63 64 73
To target the leader with positive distractions
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To make a leader feel threatened and insecure at the thought of making evangelism centre stage in their church
To hit the leaders with a tidal wave of other work to stop them evangelising To persuade leaders that it is better to hang out with Christians To persuade leaders to go away on a retreat or enter a season of prayer and fasting to seek God about direction for their church or to formulate their vision statement
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To cause leaders to see “the gospel” and “the gospel of the Kingdom” as two different gospel messages MINI BOOK 20
76
To persuade a leader that he/she must feel that they must “love God more than anything or anyone else” before obeying Him in evangelism so that when they do start, their motivation is right
77 78
To cause leaders to become out of balance in the expression of their faith.
79
To cause leaders to think that promoting the need to do evangelism is to be equated with doing good works in order to get closer to God
80
Our culture is different to what it was 50 yrs ago and this affects our approaches to evangelism. People are now sceptical to the truth, rejecting moral absolutes and have resulting indifference towards religion.
81 82
To convince us that Christianity is about being, not doing.
To persuade leaders that “bringing the Kingdom to earth” is the new priority of the Church
Teaching that we have to obey the commands of Jesus (e.g. the command to evangelise the world) is taking us back into legalism and the law! MINI BOOK 22
83
To lull leaders into thinking the majority of people in church are already genuine Christians MINI BOOK 26, APPENDIX 5
84
Have us react negatively to the thought that we are being told to do evangelism
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The Full List Of Books In ‘The Truth About Evangelism’ Mini Series Book One
Evangelism Lost! Exposing The True State Of Evangelism In Today’s Church
Book Two Seven Deadly Motives Exposing How The Enemy Is Shutting Down Evangelism.
Book Three
The Sorrowful Collapse Of The Great Commission- A Dangerous Redefining Of Evangelism
Book Four Evangelism Redefined? Six Subtle Yet Devastating Redefinitions Of Evangelism
Book Five Confusion Busters 7 Things You Should Know About The Gospel Message
Book Six
Six Ways To Move From Gospel Confusion To Gospel Clarity
Book Seven
The Evangelisation Of The World Is The Ulimate Purpose Of The Church. 7 Irrefutable Reasons It Is Time To Prioritise
Book Eight
A Gift, A Call, Or A Commission. Are All Christians Commanded To Evangelise
Book Nine
12 Keys To Fearless Evangelism In The 21St Century
Book Ten Take Them Down. 12 Road Blocks And How To Get Through Them
Book Eleven
The Key To Victory. Start Viewing Evangelism As An Event, Not A Process
Book Twelve
Confidence In The Gospel, Come Back! Four Essential Steps To Reclaiming Lost Ground!
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Book Thirteen Prepare To Be Amazed! What Jesus Really Taught About Evangelism!
Book Fourteen
What Leaders Must Do To Cause A Resurgence In World Evangelism
Book Fifteen
A Plan Of Action To Cause A Resurgence In World Evangelism
Book Sixteen
Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 1)
Book Seventeen
Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 2)
Book Eighteen
Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 3)
Book Nineteen
Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 4)
Book Twenty Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 5)
Book Twenty One
Climb On Board! 4 Reasons Why Doing Evangelism Will Help Create A Better World!
Book Twenty Two
Devastation! How Pseudo-Conversions Hinder Evangelism And What You Can Do To Stop The Rot!
Book Twenty Three
“Friendship evangelism.” What’s good about it, and what’s heretical?
Book Twenty Four
Unholy Grief! Five Ways Evangelists With The Gift Can Grieve The Holy Spirit
Book Twenty Five
The Highest Motive For Doing Evangelism? You’ll Be Amazed What The Bible Teaches! Conclusion
Book Twenty Six Appendix One : If We Fail To Evangelise, We Fail. Period. By Dr K.P. Yohannan
Appendix Two : The Pastor Evangelist. By Dr. Roger S. Greenway
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Appendix Three : True Gospel Must Be Heard, By Kevyn Harris
Appendix Four : This We Believe Signatories
Appendix Five : Device 84. “I don’t like being told to do evangelism!”
Book Twenty Seven The Evangelism Fitness Test
To order, please visit Www.evangelismtruthbooks.com
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Don’t forget to check out our other titles in this series...
SERIES
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