Evangelism

e·van·ge·lism

noun

the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.

zealous advocacy of a cause.

I remember in my early twenties God moving forcefully against me to literally and physically save me from myself. The initial result was a transformation into a true blue bona-fide Jesus freak; embarrassingly so! I looked for and manufactured ways in every encounter with someone I met to bring up Jesus and try to win their soul. I was an Evangelism Explosion Super Hero and I was one really annoying person to be around.

Skip forward 30 years; and you will find inside me a crazy Jesus freak (even more so) than that boy from thirty years ago. But it is kept inside now in temperance. I try to limit what and when I let it bleed out and to whom. But it is getting harder to do that.

Jeremiah 20:9 (NIV)

But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

God is once again moving forcefully in my life, but this time not against me. The whole turning into a Jesus freak in my twenties was not some weird over reaction but more an immature response to such a radical change. I went from less than zero to the child of a King in a matter of moments. And the only response I could give was an almost explosive outpouring of wanting to share that experience. Albeit; ‘a little out of balance’ but if you know me you know that is how I attack anything… I am all in or I am not interested at all! That is how I live my life.

I said earlier that; “it is getting harder to do that”… the ‘that’ being able to keep what is happening inside of me.

I teach 4^th and 5^th grade Sunday school and today’s lesson was on an undignified King David. He was so zealous for what God had done that in front of God and all of his subjects he danced wildly in the streets of his neighborhood in his underwear leading a celebratory procession down the street. The story is found in Second Samuel chapter 6 if you care to read it. He flat out did not care what anyone thought about the love he felt for his Father. And the only response he could give to anyone was an unabashed display of joy and affection. He wanted EVERYONE to know and share in his experience and all of what had led up to this moment. And so I am struggling again with this same thing. But I also now realize just how easy it is to dismiss someone as a kook who is acting all weird if you are not the King. And although I don’t mind being labeled a kook, I don’t want to be in-effective.

This now brings me to my point. “Evangelism”… just what is it? Is evangelism knowing the bible backwards and forwards to the point that you can defend any position or defeat any argument? I don’t think so! The early church didn’t even have a bible. If they were lucky they had a single letter from Paul to share and if they were even luckier they got to read it. So no! Evangelism can not be by its early definition, ‘know your bible’. The early church was by far the most effective the church has ever been in societal conversion and all without instruction from a bible. It still didn’t exist for hundreds of years to come.

So what made them so effective?

It was not what they knew but how well they knew WHO they knew. And everything else that came after that was the explosive feeling of wanting to share the most incredible experience of their life with anyone that would listen. And that is why I am struggling. Not because I want to go and shake someone and scream in their face; “DO YOU KNOW JESUS?” But because God… my Father… the King of the Universe, loves me, shows up for me, cares for me in ways that cannot be contained. And it is not because you need to listen to me or you might go to hell; but because; “unless you know God like this you are missing out on the most incredible experience that can be had by anyone in ten or a thousand lifetimes.

BUT!

There is only one problem with the whole picture that has been painted here. And that is YOU! If you are His; and you have not felt or experienced this yet, I dare say that you haven’t believed Him ‘yet’ for the rest of the story. Many if not most who have read this far in to my little ramble are more than likely saved and heaven bound. But because you have only put your feet into the water on the shallow side of the pool, you still do not know the joy of swimming in His love.

The Pharisees asked Jesus one time’ “what the greatest commandment is?” And He replied: “to Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength.” He also said later in another passage to; “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other “Things” will be added to you.” He basically said the same thing the second time except with a promise! And the “Things” He speaks of are all of the rest of life and what comes with it.

But until you can get this one thing right… until you can abandon your life, your hopes and dreams, your family… YOUR EVERYTHING; to be completely and totally used by God for His purpose and His purpose alone… then you will never receive the promise of “All these things” being added to you. And sadly you will always think you have to know a little more than you do before you can tell someone else about what God has done. Mainly because you have no personal  experience to share. You will never know that absolutely explosive and uncontainable feeling of wanting to tell someone about what God is doing in your life… because He isn’t doing anything; and everything that is happening in your life is of your making and not His. You have no idea what you are missing out on while we have to tarry here.

And I feel sorry for what you will never see here on earth that is completely yours… just for the asking.

Gods’ gift of salvation is FREE… but it will cost you everything you are, if you want to enjoy it while we are still here on earth.

 I recently watched a 1950's YouTube video of a house wife tripping on LSD. One of the things that stood out is towards the end of the video. She is trying to share her experience with her interviewer and is obviously experiencing something she is feeling that is beyond wonderful. And she looks at the man and asks; “don’t you see that?” and he of course says; “no”. And she continues on trying to describe her experience and after a minute she pauses. She looks at him and with a great deal of compassion in her eyes and speech says; “I feel sorry for you!”
That is exactly how I feel with what God has been doing since the beginning of this year. It is beyond incredible, so much so that it is hard not to want to scream it from the rooftops… LOOOOOOOOOK AT WHAT HE HAS DONE; AND IS DOING!
And the crazy thing is everyday He just seems to be a little closer, a little more tangible and it somehow is just a little bit better than the best thing that ever happened just a few minutes or hours earlier.

That has got to be what heaven is going to be like on steroids….