LESSON 4 ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST

EVANGELISM

LESSON 4

ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST

Witnessing and Personal Evangelism are based on the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit is what makes witnessing and Personal Evangelism easy. The hardest part is trusting God to make Christ real to the person. For example, the brother convinced that God’s Spirit alone convicts of sin, does not pile up Scripture verses in an attempt to bring that conviction himself. Instead, he is trusting that the Holy Spirit will convict the person

Satisfied that the Spirit does these things, one can concentrate on bringing the prospect to the place where he can face the Savior. It is what a person does with Christ that is important. Therefore it is urgent to guide him quickly to the place where he can do something with the Savior who is waiting to enter his heart. He must have a real and personal encounter with Christ.

The brother who does not trust the Holy Spirit to verify the Word, convict of sin and make Christ real to the prospect finds witnessing and evangelizing fearful and overwhelming. As you trust the Spirit of God more and more, you’ll find you can leave all those things entirely to God.

When you first start to evangelize in this manner you may feel clumsy at first. But with each experience you will see just how much of the work is done by the Holy Spirit. You will see Him as the real soul winner. The anointing of God will make the task thrilling. From then on, life will hold no greater joy for you than presenting the lord Jesus alive!

INTRODUCING CHRIST TO PEOPLE:

It takes personal attention to reach souls for Christ. If salvation is a personal matter, then obviously witnessing and evangelism should be done at the personal level. It is recommended that you deal with people one-on-one. This is the best way to interact with people without distractions and without embarrassing them in front of others. In just a few minutes in a personal interview you can introduce someone to Christ. The one truth that you must keep in mind when you are dealing with souls is that Jesus Christ is not “a doctrine”. He is real who is alive and waiting to meet them in a personal encounter.

It is possible for a person to believe the Bible from cover to cover and be lost, for Salvation is in Christ and not a book. People must meet the Christ of the Bible and receive Him into their hearts or what they have is little different from the religions of the world. This dramatic and personal event separates Christianity from all other religions. All religions have one thing in common. They ask people to accept doctrines, embrace systems and ways of life, but essentially they want people to believe something; whereas the Word of God asks them to receive someone! What a difference there is between believing something and receiving someone! Why, one is little more than an opinion, while the other is an experience.

If life is really in Jesus as the Bible tells us (Jn. 14:6), then there is no short cut. One must have Christ personally in order to be saved (I Jn. 5:11-12). Nothing could be plainer than that!

A person must first meet Christ in order to receive Him. That is where we come in. God has ordained that we, who already know Jesus as our personal Savior, should be the ones to introduce Him. The presenting of the Lord is the same as any other introduction, one person meeting another. Most brothers find it easy to talk about Christ but few ever introduce anyone to Him.

No amount of eloquence, dramatic technique or psychology can make Christ real to anyone. The Holy Spirit alone can do this and we must be content with our role as an introducer and leave this part to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit bears witness to the prospect’s heart that Jesus is present and the successful worker quickly learns this. There will always be some response once the introduction has been made. The Holy Spirit sees to that. A decision of some kind will be made either for Christ or against Him, but that in itself is evidence of His presence.

YOU NEED A PLAN AND A METHOD:

Decisions about Christ will not do. And heaping Bible verses on a person in hope of bringing him under conviction does not work. Such a method can be used to acquaint people with the knowledge of Christ, but it should not be confused with introducing someone to Christ.

Most methods and plans of evangelism consist of Scripture memorization with certain verses calculated to answer objections. You can be equipped with verses for every situation, and still not know how to introduce a person to Christ. It is possible that after a person’s objections have been met, he still has not come any closer to knowing Christ.

If it is true that a person must first let Christ into his heart in order to be saved, then that is the place to begin. Minimum time is spent on the matter of sin so that the positive truth of receiving Christ can be emphasized.

Have you ever had the agonizing experience of being with unsaved people and said to yourself, “I know I should witness to them, but how can I get started? How will I bring up the subject now?” And then what happened? In all probability, time and the opportunity passed and you said nothing. Later you asked yourself another question, “Why didn’t I say something?” The answer is not hard. You had no plan. It is agonizing to be the servant of the Lord in a place of witness and not know what to say. But this happens every time a brother does not have a plan and is not trained in its use. This is why 95% of all brothers have never really witnessed or evangelized.

But suppose you do work up enough courage to witness. What happens then? Usually the emotional content of the scene is such that your reason is overwhelmed and you cannot do a good job. Later you can think of a thousand things you should have said. But when you needed them, they didn’t come. This story is repeated wherever there is a brother without a plan. Every successful operation needs a plan and evangelizing is no exception. Here are some advantages of using and having a method and a plan when witnessing or evangelizing:

1. It gives you confidence which in turn produces boldness.

2. You have the advantage of knowing what reactions and responses to expect.

3. Your mind is free of the stress of planning moves, leaving you free to concentrate on the person.

4. You can control the conversation.

5. It allows you to stay on the target and work systematically toward your goal.

6. It leaves you free to analyze the person’s answers and responses and measure his understanding. You are not desperately wondering what to say next.

7. You do not need a lot of Scripture verses or extra helps for the job.

8. You can bring the person face to face with Christ.

9. You do not become confused.

10. The person develops confidence in you, because you look and act with confidence.

11. You do not have to worry about how you will bring up the matter of Christ and Salvation. Memorized questions make it simple.

12. You will always be ready when the Holy Spirit gives you an opportunity.

YOU ARE IN COMMAND:

Most of us have observed how a salesman works when he is making a sale. How he fills out a contract even before we have agreed to buy anything. Before we know it he hands a pen and the contract and urges us to, “Just sign on the line, please.” There was no idle discussion of the matter then, we had to decide. We either accepted or rejected, in a clear decision.

In much the same way a brother who is trained can bring his prospect to a decision for Christ. It is with conversation control that makes this possible. You can know exactly what the person is going to say each step of the way and can even anticipate his responses. You are able to keep the conversation focused on the main issue and prevent unrelated materials from being introduced.

The method which is used by almost all brothers, deals with excuses, and seeks to convince a person of his need and humble him. This method usually requires considerable Bible handling, takes a great deal longer and is easily thwarted by questions and intrusions.

This method ignores excuses and completely side steps the explosive area of religious debate. It is unnecessary to change a person’s mind before introducing him to Jesus. If he can truly be made aware of Christ waiting at the door of his heart, his responsibility becomes most clear. This makes evangelizing a positive ministry requiring fewer skills.

SOME HINTS THAT HELP:

Stay on the subject. Satan will try to get you off the track and one of his favorite methods is to have the person ask a question about which you know a great deal. These questions come right out of the blue, so be prepared for them, and side track them. How many times in your experience has Satan used this to sidetrack you?

Disregard criticisms of the Bible. Regardless of the charge a person makes against the Bible, ignore it and go on. This will seem hard at first. The Word of God is the “the sword of the spirit” it is a weapon! Don’t defend the word of God, use it! (Heb. 4:12).

Those who disclaim the Word of God are really debating with the Holy Spirit, not with you. Don’t be surprised when people make strong untrue statements as they resist His convicting power. They will be directed at you, but they are debating with God. Pay no attention and be not disturbed. The fact that they refuse to acknowledge the Bible does not reduce its effectiveness.