The Heart Beat of God

Go ye into all nations...  

Introduction

There are various calls and ministries that God has called or assigned to His people to do. In these various calls and ministries however, God has given all believers in Christ common call and ministry, which is "Evangelism". Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour in Matthew Gospel 28:18-20 made this call to His disciples whom we are today. He said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in the earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations... Teaching them to observe (obey or do) all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo (surely), I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen!"

This call, which has a specific command or instruction of Christ to the Church to go to all nations and preach Christ has been theologically designated as "The Great Commission". It is very important to God and therefore has also been regarded as, "The Heart Beat of God". In some cultures, the last word of a man or a person before he/she leaves this earth through death is regarded as very important and is respected with great value placed on it. The great commission (Evangelism) was the last word of Jesus Christ before leaving the earth through ascension into heaven. This means that God expects believers in Christ to place great value and importance to this command. This implies that every believer in Christ should take evangelism very seriously and see it as "The Will of God" for His children (Christians). Any call that one claims to have from God, no matter how special that is void of evangelism is not from God because evangelism is part of every call and ministry.

Why is Evangelism Important?

It is not the will of God that anyone should perish... (1Peter 3:9). God does not take pleasure in the death of a sinner because a sinner faces unbearable pain and agony when he/she dies. Knowing the excruciating pain sinners will go through, God desires greatly that they should repent, turn away from their sins and turn to Him and be saved from sin, Satan and eternal death. The necessity for a sinful soul to repent, made God send His one and only Son Jesus Christ to die and pour out His blood for the remission of sin (John 3:16). We as Children of God must have this mindset of God to wish and work for the repentance of sinners. We must realize that we are saved by God through Jesus Christ to be used by God to save others. Evangelism here means to go out and tell others, especially, sinners that Jesus Christ saves the total man from sin, Satan and eternal death. Tell them that He also heals, blesses and protects those who believe, accept and trust in Him.

Format of Evangelism

There are various formats or categories of evangelism. However, let's look at evangelism in these directions:

1. Oral/Verbal Evangelism: This is preaching/teaching Christ and/or the Kingdom of Heaven (God) with our mouth (Matthew 28:18-20).

2. Character/Lifestyle Evangelism: This is preaching/teaching Christ and/or the Kingdom of Heaven (God) with our character or lifestyle. When we live a holy and righteous life, (which is what Christianity {Christ like life} is about) in this unholy and unrighteous world, people see Christ in us and then believe in Christ (Matthew 5:16 and vs. 48).

3. Material Evangelism: We can also reach sinful souls and win them for Christ by using our substance which the Lord has blessed us with. The best gospel a hungry person wants to receive is food; a naked person wants clothes and shoes; a frustrated person wants physical encouragement. Both in the Church and in the world, we need to win souls for Christ by doing good deeds and affecting people's lives positively (James 3:14-18, Matthew 5:16). Those of us who are connected to the government should connect others, those who are established in businesses and trades should establish others. Then, tell them about Christ, before you will be through, they have already accepted Jesus Christ (Acts 10:44-48).

Conclusion

Let us not allow the myth of time (I don't have time) to stop us from answering God's call to go out and win souls for Christ. Anything we place value, importance or priority on, we make out time for it. We should, therefore, as a matter of necessity and urgency place value, importance and/or priority on evangelism and evangelize. This is Christ Great Commission to Christians His people, which requires absolute obedience. 

To this effect, the Assemblies of God Church, Nigeria has designated every October as a special month for evangelism, which is called "October Enlargement Campaign". Let us join the Assemblies of God Church all over the world and seize this opportunity of October Enlargement Campaign to go out in mass and win souls for Christ as much as we can. May God bless us as we answer obediently, willingly and faithfully to this call to evangelism. Amen!

Pastor Nwoko Solomon Ikechukwu