Did you manage to listen to podcast #20 from AgeTurners.com? The title is “The Way to do the work of an Evangelist(2)” – Doing the work of an evangelist may seem like a difficult and intimidating task. However, the ministry of the age presents us with the practical way to accomplish this, and that way may be easier than you think. You can listen to this podcast online or download it as an mp3 here.
In this podcast brother Tom Goetz reveals two more steps of this way presented in the ministry – we are given the steps we must take in order to do the work of an evangelist and to be the overcomers in this age. [sharing by sister Grace]
We have been given the trained way on how to do the work of an evangelist. The situation of this age requires us to do this work. It preserves us, and it keeps us fresh. We have to become active in the gospel, to “do business while the Lord is coming,” by doing the work of an evangelist. There is a definite, clear way that we have been given, four main steps that we can take. These require a great deal of exercise.
- In Revelation 2:4 the Lord says:
But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.
This was written to the church in Ephesus. The church in Ephesus was in danger of losing their first love. Although they were a proper church, they had lost the one thing that qualified them to be the bride – their absolute love for the Lord. Other things came in instead. We must ask ourselves: Is the Lord the first in our lives? Do we love Him above all things? We need to say: “Lord Jesus, I love You best. I love You with my first love.” We must be stirred up in our first love for the Lord through repenting prayers.
- We must then make a thorough confession to the Lord. Our confession must start with these three things: deadness, lukewarmness and barrenness.
Deadness – Every one of us need to deal with our deadness, the things that have quenched our love for the Lord. Deadness is more defiling than sin, and it is more hated by God than sin. We may be focused on our mistakes, but our real condition may be one of deadness. Revelation 3:1 says:
And to the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead.
The Church in Sardis has been married to the world. The world is part of Satan’s strategy to kill us and to kill our function. Just being and living in this age makes us dead. We have to repent: “Lord, I’m so sorry, I’m so dead.”
Lukewarmness – The second thing is lukewarmness. This is the lukewarmness of Laodicea. Revelation tells us that they are proud, and have need of nothing. They do not know that they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. This is a situation where you think you are okay, but you actually are lukewarm. Can we say that we are burning for the Lord? Romans 12:11 says: “Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.” We must repent and become exceedingly burning. We have to get on fire. We cannot be lukewarm; otherwise we will be swallowed up by this age. We need to confess our lukewarmness, which comes from our opinions and loving ourselves. We must pray: “Lord, save me from my lukewarmness, burn me, Lord, shine on me.”
Barrenness – as shared in the previous podcast, we need to see that our bearing fruit is much under God’s standard – check with yourself, how many people have you brought to the Lord recently? We may not see it as being something “bad”, but for God it is serious – all the branches that are in the vine and do not bear fruit will be cut off and burned in fire!
- We must enter into close intimate fellowship with the Lord and with companions. We need to spend time to fellowship about being a seed of the gospel, doing business for the Lord and bearing fruit. We must do this with companions, and we must even demand of the Lord to give us some companions, with whom we could pray over the things that the Lord has been showing us or pray over some names together. We are not here by ourselves. We need companions.
And these companions may not be our age. The Lord may lead us to our parents, to some college students, to our siblings, or even to a couple in the church life. Our companions may even be younger than us. We must regularly get together, by phone, or even Skype if they are far away. We have to do this because this is the trained way – this is the best way!
- When we get to this point, we have to give the Lord our absolute consecration:
Lord, I give myself to You absolutely; I give myself to You in a definite way to be a fruit bearing branch in the vine tree, in the church life. Lord, I consecrate myself to You for this.
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