God’s absolute plan
Acts 1:8 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
♬ Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal #500 Throw out the Lifeline (#258 in previous version)
We must have a plan to save people; a plan that is good enough in the eyes of God, in the eyes of other people, and even in your own eyes. This is what we call evangelism planning. And this is when we start to be guided by the Holy Spirit. God promised that He would fill us with the Holy Spirit when we do this. Then how must we do personal evangelism planning?
1. There are many who are prepared to be saved. The fact is, they are dying right now
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the place where Jesus’ disciples were gathered. The Jewish people who came from 15 countries heard the Gospel that day. Among them, 3,000 were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ after hearing the sermon of Peter that led them to repent. Later, Peter was preaching at the Solomon’s Colonnade, and around 5,000 men accepted Christ in the midst of persecution. So many disciples were eventually added to the numbers that internal conflicts arose. The number of disciples kept on increasing in number and a great number of priests also came to believe. Even in Antioch a huge number of disciples arose. In the same way, there are many souls dying in the field. If we make plans to evangelize in front of God, in front of other people, and before ourselves with our consciences, God will open up doors.
2. God has hidden them
God prepared those who are to receive salvation from long ages past (Ephesians 1:3~5). There are people whom God has prepared since long ages past, along with the Gospel (Romans 16:25). If you have seen this, you have seen everything. Evangelism is not persuasion. Disciples are not made. People who are to receive salvation are prepared in the fields, and disciples are hidden there. When evangelism disciples realize this and understand this, everything will be restored.
3. The person God desires the most
Before you go out and evangelize, you must be in the blessing of enjoying the Gospel yourself. The people we meet are precious and God has a plan for them. They should be able to see God’s blessing in our lives. We have to help them become evangelists. Then how can the evangelism movement continue in our regions? Who is the disciple that can continue the Gospel movement in your region? What kind of system can help this movement to persist? If you are an evangelist, you should think about these three things all the time. To what extent should we plan evangelism? Do it until evangelism fills your heart, until you see it in your dreams, and discover meaning in meeting other people.
● Forum Topic - Think about what God will be most pleased with. Do your own evangelism planning.
Evangelism Disciple Training / 2009.11.17