Sermon Central
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How Evangelism Should Work Series
Contributed by Billy Noel on Jan 11, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: many times the mistake we make is to present the gospel so that it turns people away, Philip presented the truth simply and trusted Jesus with the result.
How Evangelism Works
US Census Bureau 2000
There are about 5000 households in this zip code alone with about 2000 families with children, do the math and there at least 7-12000 people who could be reached in this zip code
Now multiply that by the number of zip codes represented in this room and that means that there are thousands of persons that could be reached by just the people in this room through evangelism
*** The problem is that there is very little personal evangelism
Personal evangelism is making the most of opportunities to share your own personal experience of coming to Christ
Another problem is that many people just have a religious experience
And what we need is a spiritual experience
Religious experiences can be mere rituals without having a life changing effect
But spiritual experiences are usually unexpected and change you forever
I believe this is what Philip had
The text opens with Jesus calling Philip; He very simply says “Follow me”—literally, “Keep on following me.” And Philip did. In the following verses we see immediate incendiary results in Philip’s life—he had a burning desire to share the gospel. One lighted torch lights another torch. So Philip went forth to share the gospel, and soon he found Nathanael.
Personal Encounter
Philip had to be excited about his discovery
The reason for the excitement
The recognized value/benefit of the encounter
At least three things changed
His past changed
His present has changed
His future has changed
The result of the excitement
Philip found Nathaniel
*A Simple Testimony
“We have found Him”
*A Simple Invitation
Come and see
*A Profound Result
…Success
Jesus sees the potential in every person
The spiritual reality…
Before Philip called I saw you
Every person has something to offer the kingdom
Philip trusted Jesus with the outcome
We often want to see the fruit of our labor
We often want to drive a person to Christ
Philip simply shared the news and let the spiritual realities already at work determine the outcome
