Evangelism God's Way, Part 5

The point: Prepare as a church for the corporate effort to establish geographically structured, home-based, evangelistic Bible studies.

The analogy of a tree with its root system deeply embedded in the Word of God is used to organize the sermon series on biblical perspectives for evangelism, with 'taproots' representing fundamental principles.

And in an attempt to perpetuate that, we are going to do so. And to prepare us as a church for this effort to reach our Jerusalem with the gospel, I am bringing a series of messages that I have entitled, Some Biblical Perspectives Concerning God-Honoring, Spirit-Empowered Evangelistic Endeavors. For surely we are united in our desire that whatever we do, it will be God-honoring, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. And I have chosen to use the analogy of a tree as the organizing structure for these messages.

4:25 - 5:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains that the Spirit's presence and power are necessary due to the condition of the unsaved, who are naturally dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), spiritually…

The difference between a dozing man who can be awakened by external stimuli and a dead man who needs supernatural power to live is used to illustrate the spiritual deadness of the unsaved and their need for the Holy Spirit.

who were dead in your trespasses and your sins 2 the dead men are to live they need the gracious intrusion of nothing short of supernatural power a man merely dozing may be tickled or shouted or shaken to wakefulness but if he is dead nothing will bring him to activity but supernatural power that imparts life and so as we seek to bring the gospel to men that they might know the blessing of the forgiveness of sins

27:38 - 28:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: you've never seen anything in that that has ravished your heart and caused you to say Lord Jesus I'm yours why? you're spiritually blind you see no glory in all of that

A blind man facing the noonday sun still cannot see, illustrating that more light (preaching) alone will not give spiritual sight; supernatural power is needed to restore spiritual vision.

they have blinded their minds lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should dawn upon them now what do blind people need in sight by shining more and more light upon their eyes a blind man can have his face turned to the noonday sun in the clear blue sky and having the intense rays of the sun directly falling on the surface of his eyes will not give him sight what does he need he needs a touch of supernatural power that will restore the spiritual optic nerve that will reattach the

29:45 - 30:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: you've never seen anything in that that has ravished your heart and caused you to say Lord Jesus I'm yours why? you're spiritually blind you see no glory in all of that

A determined rebel whose rebellion is ingrained cannot be enticed or argued out of it, illustrating that only a supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit can change the heart of a spiritual rebel.

is enmity against God it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can it be and you see a determined rebel whose rebellion is ingrained into the very fabric and texture of his soul cannot be enticed out of his rebellion he can't be argued out of his rebellion he needs a supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit upon the very essence of his inner being upon his heart and upon his will and that's exactly what God says he does when he saves a sinner Ezekiel 36 verses 26 and 27 God says

33:24 - 34:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that unless God the Holy Spirit supernaturally and powerfully does what only God can do, there will be no turning to Christ.

Someone who passionately loves darkness cannot be argued into loving light, just as a spiritual mole scurries to a dark hole, illustrating the need for the Spirit to change the inner disposition to love the light.

love with the darkness we can't argue them into a state of loving the light we can't entice them only God can do that work that so changes the inner disposition of the soul that they will now become passionate lovers of the light that is they are willing as John goes on to say he that does the truth keeps coming to the light that his works may be made manifest that they are wrought in God he wants to live out before the open sky of the eye of God and the law of God and the truth of God he doesn't scurry to the nearest dark

36:21 - 37:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek the supernatural presence and power of the Holy Spirit to have a love that even faintly mirrors the love of Christ for sinners.

The metaphor of 'clanging hunk of brass' or 'little beard with the tin garbage can top and the spoon' is used to describe evangelism without love, echoing 1 Corinthians 13.

speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love remember where that clanging hunk of brass where the little beard with the tin garbage can top and the spoon walking down the street just making a nuisance of ourselves that's why we need the presence and power of the Holy Spirit the Spirit who alone can give us the disposition we read about this morning here is Paul by nature as selfish self-centered as you as self-centered as any one of us and yet he could say I say the truth in Christ I do not lie my

45:09 - 45:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek the Spirit's supernatural presence and power to overcome native timidity and reticence to speak to others about the Savior.

Martin recounts his personal experience as a natively timid young man being called to street preach in Stamford, Connecticut, and how the Holy Spirit empowered him to speak with boldness despite his fear.

entire inner structure of the soul that releases us from timidity and enables us to speak how can I ever Thursday night Stanford Connecticut Thursday night when the stores were open Thursday night when all the guys hung around the Liggett's drugstore on Atlantic Street in Stanford Connecticut the old man up in the Stanford Gospel Mission said to me and a few of my buddies who'd recently been converted you boys

50:17 - 51:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek the Spirit's supernatural presence and power to supply the wisdom to say the appropriate words in evangelistic interactions, especially when unprepared.

Martin shares a more recent personal story of how the Holy Spirit gave him boldness to go door-to-door inviting neighbors to his wife's memorial service, overcoming his native fear of witnessing.

to intimidate me to shut my mouth dear people we desperately need the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to give us that boldness doesn't mean you're all going to go out in the street corner but it means the boldness necessary to cross over the fence not climb over it go around it however you get to your next door neighbor and knock and invite them to that Bible study the boldness God gave me an entirely different way after the death of my beloved

52:28 - 53:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not expect the presence and power of the Holy Spirit without earnest, persistent, and believing prayer, as this is the sin of presumption.

Peter crying 'Lord save me' as he sinks beneath the waves is used as an example of a brief but earnest prayer born out of acute, felt need.

it is when there is the internal felt awareness of acute need that true prayer is birthed it is when a Peter is sinking beneath turbulent waves and says Lord save me brief but earnest prayer and when we take to heart what the scripture teaches us concerning the native condition of men and our condition in seeking to be the instruments to bring the gospel to them we will have a context out of which real prayers will be born the kind of prayers that God

61:16 - 61:59 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are unsaved, recognize your condition (dead, blind, rebel) and cry out to Jesus for mercy and sight, knowing He delights to hear the cry of the desperate sinner.

The story of blind Bartimaeus crying out to Jesus is used to illustrate how a desperate sinner, recognizing his condition, can call upon Jesus for mercy and receive sight.

delights to hear and delights to answer and I want to say in closing for those of you who have yet to embrace the savior you have been described this morning it has not been a flattering picture God says you're dead you're blind you're a rebel that's your condition but it doesn't need to remain your condition remember that blind man Bartimaeus he hears that Jesus is passing by and he cries out and overcomes all of the obstacles when people tell him shut up he cries the louder Jesus stands still and says what do you want me to do for you

61:59 - 62:42 Read in full sermon