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| Manmin News No. 131 |
| HIT |
13671 |
| DATE |
2008-11-16 |
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[Zoom In] Think You Don't Have "What It Takes" to Preach the Gospel to Others? Here is a Helpful Guide
'I'm too busy to share the Gospel.' 'I do want to preach the Gospel but just can't think of the right words.' 'I'm an introvert and it isn't easy for me to start talking to people first.' Is preaching the Gospel really difficult? The end of a year is fast approaching and what grade would you give yourself as a Christian? Are you merely sighing as you realize there are only 2 pages left in the 2008 calendar? If you need right now something that will revitalize your life in Christ, we recommend preaching of the Gospel that saves souls. Preaching the Gospel is not difficult and this feature will delve into effective ways to share the Good News with others.
It's not about what you do.
Preaching the Gospel may seem difficult because you have the greed to do it yourself. As is the case with every task in and for the Kingdom of God, it is most essential for one to receive help from God amidst the works of the Holy Spirit in preaching the Gospel. When you pray fervently for the target of evangelization and become filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will do His part of the work the moment of the preaching of the Gospel, touch and open the door to his heart. Until an unbeliever joins a church, the enemy devil and Satan may employ a variety of schemes to interfere. Therefore, you must pray and fast for the person you wish to bring to salvation and drive away forces and elements of interference in his life. From the testimonies of people who have evangelized to many an individual, we often hear how they prayed and fasted for those who they had never even met.
Neither is it a one-way street.
You must allow the person to whom you seek to preach the Gospel to come to understand on his own. You cannot use a cramming method of teaching and impose on him, "Believe in Jesus!" It would be easy to draw interest and incite curiosity from the person if you posed him a question like, "Do you know Jesus?" Furthermore, you must create an environment in which the person can come to understand on his own by inviting him to attend a special event at the church, recommending sermon tapes and CD's or written works, or steadily providing him with church newsletters. Then, you will find it effective to begin a conversation about Christian life at a comfortable time in which he will feel less uneasy.
It's all about putting the Word into practice.
With love and interest, you must emanate the fragrance of Christ. As we find in James 2:15-16, "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" preaching of the Gospel is a way through which we the believers can put into practice the love and sacrifice about which we have heard and learned from the Word. No matter how hardened an individual's heart may be, by our deeds of love the bars of his heart will be raised and he will accept the Gospel.
It's also about your experiences.
In addition, sharing your own testimonies is more effective than sharing the testimonies of a third person because it will be easier to give proof to your own experiences of God's works. Among those who preach the Gospel to many a person are those who emphasize the church they attend or the pastor of that church. They speak of God's works taking place at their church and the powerful messages proclaimed by their pastor. Early on, when the target of evangelization is not aware of God and Jesus Christ, he will need the evidence by which he can come to believe. Furthermore, one of the better ways to preach the Gospel is to approach the topics of his interest and offer him the spiritual solution to the target's most important and urgent problems, i.e. advising them on the ways to receive God's healing of his disease, His blessings and answers to his financial difficulty, and the like.Lastly, a messenger of the Gospel may easily face the "pressure to evangelize many people." Let's not forget that it is more important to harbor a heart abounding in love by which you will do everything you can to prevent others from falling into hell.
~ Drawing by Hyun-Kyung Kim
'Why is Preaching of the Gospel Difficult for Me?' Here are Some Useful Tips
♥ Pray always. ♥ Love others in earnest. ♥ Greet with a smile. ♥ Humble yourself in humility. ♥ Remember their names, occupations, and preferences. ♥ Provide necessary goods. ♥ Share delicious food. ♥ Make full use of fliers or books. ♥ Seize the moment when they are poor in spirit. ♥ Live an exemplary life.
Preaching the Gospel through Life
~ Deacon Ee-Hee Song works at the National Tax Service and as someone indebted to God's grace, preaching of the Gospel for Deacon Song is life itself.
When I was first led to Manmin, I was healed completely of Hepatitis B by the Senior Pastor's prayer. After experiencing the Living God, I frankly shared my testimony and evangelized my relatives one by one. Leading the steps of each unbeliever to the church required not only prayer but also service he could easily see and recognize. After sowing so and when they became poor in spirit, they naturally found church. Following each Daniel Prayer Meeting or on Saturdays, I provided the Senior Pastor's written works and church newsletters to local restaurants. As of late, I have been setting my sight on stores that are more accessible. I have noticed that people who have had undeniable experiences of God settle at the church well but that the rate of those without such experiences staying at the church is low. This is when I realized the importance of equipping myself with the Word and taking after the heart of Our Lord so that I could approach people with earnest love. I also felt the necessity of pairing up with a partner and undergoing training in preaching the Gospel. Preaching the Good News is a duty required of all God's children but the more you do it, the more you will see your own faith grow. It is not something difficult or special; it is God's "grace" and "life" itself.
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