Q: What’s your favorite Disney movie?
There are a lot to choose from! Classics like Bambi and Lady and the Tramp, inspiring true stories like Miracle
and Remember the Titans. New cult favorites like Tangled and Frozen. And then do you count movies from
Pixar? Star Wars? Marvel?
Q: Why am I asking you this; what does all of this have to do with The Heart of Evangelism?
Think about the emotions you experienced (both positive and negative) as you heard those movie titles. Each
movie casts a vision of “the good life”, teaching the next generation what to love and to pursue. And you know
what? This is what we believers who actually follow Jesus do!
The culture around us is loud. Children, teens, and most adults often don’t understand that the Gospel is big
enough to encompass every area of life, even the weird, modern areas like celebrities, weird celebrities,
TikTok, and your favorite Disney movie.
Being part of a local church family that is developing deeper friendship with God together and brining
everyone else we can with us makes us better at life, and it helps families engage with culture through the
lens of the Gospel. When we do this like we could and should, we, together, help families talk about difficult
issues like anxiety, healthy use of smartphones and technology, and navigating social media.
Good kids do bad things without adult supervision. Their brain is just not developed enough to navigate well
through culture, peer pressure, good vs best, and obedience vs rationalization (that is, believing rational lies).
Without the voices of trusted adults who are guided by Scripture, teens are left in the dark with only Google
and YouTubers to guide them through a chaotic, information-overloaded world.
Adults – that was some of you as a kid, now you’re the adult – uh-oh! This is more than just a teen thing.
You, your families, and your friends still need help discerning which cultural messages are true and which ones
are distorted. And that’s where the church comes in. And this morning, I hope you’ll see more clearly where
and how you come in – to your friends’ and family’s world.
And that is at The Heart of Evangelism.
Evangelism is the act of sharing the “Gospel” – Jesus’ “good news” about the life, death, and Jesus’
resurrection – with the goal of inviting others to know God, too. The word comes from the ancient Greek term
euangelion, which means “bringing or announcing good news”.
Evangelism has 3 core parts, the Why, the What, and the How, so let’s take a look at these 3 Keys to Sharing
the Gospel:
- Why – The Intention: Speaking Truth with love – cornering the lies people have believed about God with so
much Truth and so much love that those lies just can’t exist in their life anymore – and the hope that listeners
will choose to believe, while leaving the final personal change up to God. This is Gospel Urgency (motivation to
evangelize). - What – The Message: Telling the story of Jesus, his sacrifice on the cross, and His offer of forgiveness and
eternal life. This is Gospel Fluency (the ability to articulate the Gospel clearly). - How – The Method: Sharing through everyday conversations, personal stories, and acts of kindness – both a
visual demonstration and a verbal definition – it takes both. This is Gospel Strategy (a plan to reach others).
That’s Evangelism. But let’s touch on What Evangelism Is Not:
Not an Argument: It’s meant to be shared with gentleness and respect, not forced through anger or heated
debate. God speaks for Himself, and when we genuinely seek after Him and see Him working in the world
around us, we won’t be able to keep it to ourselves! We just turn attention to and point people to Jesus,
because we can’t come up with better than God on our own.
Not Just Good Deeds: Helping people is always important. But true evangelism includes actually talking
about the message of Jesus rather than only doing community service. True believers do both. Evangelism
turns attention towards and points people to Jesus.
Not Coercion: It is an invitation to share faith. This is very different from aggressive or manipulative pressure.
We’ll come back to this, and I think future you will be glad we did. We want to be a safe place, free from
rogue church-hurt. Romans 1:17 NLT tells us that, “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his
sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a
righteous person has life.”
Our students are going back to school this week. They need us, and we need them. This is more than a youth
or children’s pastor thing. This is a parent thing and a church-wide thing. The average Christian high school
senior is not motivated, equipped, or expected to actively share the Gospel. No wonder so many abandon
their faith after high school! They don’t have much skin in the game! We help that. One way you can help is to
see me about sharing your testimony with our youth on a Wednesday night – relate with them on more than
small talk – big talk about our big God!
Pastors are the coaches, not the quarterbacks. Our job as a pastors isn’t to lob all the touchdown passes
ourselves but to get you off the bench and into the game of life, coaching you as you develop your confidence
and your words for evangelism as you actively share your faith with your families and friends.
Evangelism puts all believers in a situation where we’re forced to rely on God. It also causes us to “count the
cost” of being a follower of Jesus, because to share the Gospel, especially with a friend, could challenge that
friendship. Now it’s a value choice.
A belief is something you accept as true, till you are presented with new evidence or a better sounding or
feeling agreement – anything I can talk you into, someone else can talk you out of. But a value is a guiding
principle or standard of worth. Beliefs answer “how the world works,” whereas values answer “what matters
most”.
The Gospel is Good News – so for the next few minutes together, let’s work on how to share this Good News,
which takes us to first of those The 3 Keys to Sharing The Gospel:
- Gospel Urgency – the Why
Life is temporal; a soul lasts forever. It’s easy to see which is more important. Our earth-suits, our bodies will
quit working one day – sooner if we take them too high, hold them underwater too long, bang them too hard,
or mistreat them. But everyone has a soul who will send eternity somewhere. A soul has greater value.
Q: But why don’t we live like this is true?
If we see someone in a burning car, we know they are in danger of losing their life. We would probably react
to save them. When we see danger to life, we’re likely to act.
But when we see someone sitting on a bench, we can’t see their soul. We don’t know if they’re going to hell.
The average person, even in the church, doesn’t have much conviction if there even is such a place, since
we’ve never seen it. And if you’re nice, you probably don’t want to imagine anyone going there anyhow. So
the result is that we won’t risk as much to save their soul because we’re not sure of their outcome. It’s easier
to see someone dying physically than dying spiritually, and valuing souls requires an element of faith that
valuing life doesn’t require.
So God gave us Jude 22-23 as a visual to help us out:
Jude 22-23 NLT – “ 22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering [those who doubt]. 23 Rescue
others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great
caution, hating the sins [having plans for our lives apart from God’s plans for our lives] that contaminate
their lives.
There is a hell that unbelievers are headed to and going through apart from Jesus. We believers are the
hands of God to snatch, or rescue, them from the Lake of Fire described in Revelation 20. We, the church, are
God’s plan for offering salvation to people. We are the carriers of God’s grace to others.
Revelation 20:15 – “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake
of fire.” [Is your name written in there yet?]
Of the 12 times that hell is mentioned in the New Testament, 11 are mentioned by Jesus Himself. Q: Was Jesus
using “scare tactics” to motivate people to believe? I believe yes, inspired by love: Just like a parent who
screams at the top of their lungs to stop and scare their small child from running out in the street in front of a
speeding car, Jesus sternly warns us, out of love, to avoid the ultimate head on collision. Hell should be a
motivating factor for every believer to rescue the perishing before it’s too late.
We need to understand the reality of hell, the hope of heaven, and the power of the Gospel to rescue our
friends from the eternal consequences of sin.
John 3:36 – “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for
God’s wrath remains on them.”
People need rescuing from the hell that they’re headed to – the absence of life eternally, and they need
rescuing from the “hell” they may be going through right now apart from a life-giving relationship with
Jesus! In Polk County schools, there are Mental Awareness classes provided, mental health instruction, and
access to support for our teens just to be able to provide help for coping with the absence of life that shows
up through symptoms like teen suicide, anxiety, drug use, and depression. They need to be rescued, not just
from the flames of hell someday, but from pain, addiction, and hopeless-ness today.
In Matthew 9:36 we read about how Jesus saw the crowds around Him: “When He saw the crowds, He had
compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” May we learn
to see our lost peers through Jesus’ eyes! May we allow God to grow His Gospel Urgency in us!
Q: If God answered all your prayers, how many people would come to Christ? How many wars would end?
How many human traffickers would be arrested? How many hungry people would be fed? If that hasn’t got
anything to do with your prayers, that’s not God’s will, it’s just your will?
- Gospel Fluency – the What
Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel [Jesus’ Good News], because it is the power of God that
brings salvation to everyone who believes…
It’s a simple message of hope that somehow carries the power of God to rescue lost people from the power and
penalty of sin.
Ask and depend on God to give you words to express your faith better. Right now. We must learn how to be
fluent in the most powerful message in the history of humanity!
Gospel Fluency is the ability to articulate the whole story of the Gospel in a clear, connecting, and compelling
way. It’s how you talk up the Gospel, Jesus’ Good News, and our testimony of how Jesus impacted and saved
us! (I am partial to the “G.O.S.P.E.L.” put out by Dare 2 Share)
God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1–2)
Our sins separate us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. (Genesis 4–Malachi 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew–Luke)
Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John)
Life with Jesus starts now (not when you die) and lasts forever. (Acts–Revelation)
Q: Are you ready to share the Good News of Jesus anytime, anywhere, with anyone? Have you believed and
trusted Jesus to save you? Ask Him! “Save me; thank You; lead me.”
Q: How many of us trusted Jesus because someone shared the Gospel with us? That’s motivation in itself to
share that with others! No one who actually shares the Gospel stops to think if they know and understand all
the right words they want to say before they say something of out of urgency or passion:
For example, a few decades ago before I-20 was completed over the wetlands in Louisiana, a couple of young
pastors were driving home from a speaking engagement in Dallas to Atlanta. It was late at night; they were
tired; and they were ready to be home. When they came to signs directing traffic to exit just before an
upcoming bridge, they thought, “let’s just drive around the signs – I’m sure the road in finished by now – it’s
been years!” They drive around the giant orange and black road-block signs, see the roadway clear, and take
off with a false sense of confidence. They zoom by a Trans-Am with the T-tops off and windows down with
what looked like a couple making-out inside. Suddenly its lights come on and it start chasing them – things just
got scary. It starts honking, and the couple in the Trans-Am pulls up beside them and starts waving frantically
for them to pull-over. Fear keeps them from pulling over. So the Trans-Am pulls ahead and guides them to the
side of the road. The guy jumps out and says, “If you had made it to the top of this bridge (they were on),
that’s where the road ends – you’d have plunged into the swamp!” But he certainly didn’t have the time to get
all those words out that clearly before disaster. If he’d have waited to get everything just right, it’d be too late!
Now, let’s talk for a moment about Coercion vs Persuasion
Q: What is the difference between coercion and persuasion?
Coercion forces compliance using threats, pressure, intimidation, or abuse of authority, leaving no safe way to
disagree. Persuasion changes minds through reasoning, facts, and free choice. It has no intent to harm and
works to open the heart of someone, persuading them to voluntarily change their belief or action.
Persuasion usually requires understanding (being convinced), but not always. A lot of people in the church go
along with other people in the church without understanding. God wants unity, but not uniformity. Unity is
our commonality in Jesus expressed through our uniqueness. It’s not the absence of disagreement, but it is a
common commitment to Christ.
Coercion requires only power (fear or threats). We usually equate coercion with obvious force, but sometimes
it’s far more subtle. For example: If you want people to stop smoking, you don’t need to make it illegal; you
can simply make smoking expensive (raise taxes) or offer bribes (lower health insurance premiums). In a
similar way, peer-pressure is persecution to a believer (everyone wants to fit in). Both are still coercive in that
the power to give or take away is entirely in the hands of the “coercer”.
Persuasion is different because it relies on understanding what smoking does to the human body. Someone
who’s persuaded of its dangers has an incentive to stop that’s entirely independent of anyone else’s actions.
Our goal is not to coerce someone to conversion, but to paint a picture that they can more clearly choose to
accept or reject.
D.L. Moody used say that only 1 out of 100 people actually read the Bible; that means 99 are looking to the 1;
and to the 1: Be an accurate translation!
That’s why Paul says to us in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 NLT – “ 31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please
everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may
be saved.”
He’s saying that because he loves others, he’s acting in their best interests, removing barriers and hurdles to
knowing Jesus better, and he’s telling this to us in order to persuade us to join in…(and that’s basically what
Paul says next)
1 Corinthians 11:1 – “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
He wants us to follow him as he follows Jesus so that we might eventually find ourselves following Jesus!
*You can convince someone to do something based on reason: Maybe they will, maybe they won’t; anything I
can talk you into, someone else can talk you out of. *You can coerce someone to do something under threat:
They probably will, but not for long. *The way to persuade someone, however, is to appeal to their heart,
because unless your heart changes, you don’t change.
Help each other come up with specific things that are lovingly-persuasive – things we can do to make sure that
we don’t come across too forcefully. Small Groups can and should help with that.
2 Peter 3:14-15 NLT – “ 14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen [seeing
salvation for yourselves, along with a new Heaven and earth filled with God’s righteousness], make every
effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. 15 And remember, our Lord’s
patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the
wisdom God gave him.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 – “ 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins
against them [you don’t have to fully understand that to want that!]. And He has committed to us the
message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors [representing/re-presenting Him and
sharing His same message, getting everyone else we can in on it], as though God were making His appeal
through us. We implore you [we beg you] on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made Him who had
no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus gave His life for you to give His life to you to live His life through you!
If you need some happy thoughts to think, that’s a biggie! That’s a message worth breaking down and getting
others in on, together! Gospel fluency.
- Gospel Strategy
Acts 17:2 NLT – “As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he
used the Scriptures to reason with the people.”
We gather to be prepared to scatter! Paul had a strategy for reaching others with the Gospel. He went into
the synagogues and used the Old Testament to share the Gospel.
We need a strategy, too. I’ll give you a simple one to start from Dare 2 Share): Prayer – Care – Share. Your
strategy must start in prayer – talk with God about people before you talk with people about God – praying
for our lost friends, classmates, teammates, co-workers, and family members by name. Then we must care for
them by loving them, listening to them, and serving them like Jesus. And, finally, we must share Jesus’
message…out loud with words. Prayer – Care – Share.
If you have another strategy for sharing your faith, Great! Use it! The methodology doesn’t matter nearly as
much as the clarity of the message. Keep it simple, love them, and trust Jesus to use that and to transform
them.
BLT (Bottom Line Theology): Believers need to have a Gospel Urgency, a basic Gospel Fluency, and a practical
Gospel Strategy if you’re going to be ready to make a difference. This is us. This is now. I hope these tools and
recommendations will help you and help you equip each other more effectively!
This is bigger than whatever transitions we’re going through, wouldn’t you agree? If we’ll get this right, we’ll
be OK.
Next Steps
- Think and talk about specific things we can do to be lovingly persuasive when we share the Gospel with
others. - Ask and depend on God to give you words to express your faith in Him better.
- Ask God who is someone He would like you to share Jesus’ good news and hope with this week?
