"Good News for Gnawing Needs"
Acts 8:25-40 Nov.14/04 NCD "Need-oriented Evangelism"
Spell-binding the Spiel-wary
We were having devotions as a couple after supper one evening this past week when the phone rang. Silly me, I put God "on hold" and answered the phone. It was a promoter from a resort in Collingwood offering us 3 days and 2 nights for only a $50 deposit which would be refunded at the end of our stay. It might have been an attractive proposal if conditions had been a little different. First, the quality of the connection was terrible, as if some computer was monitoring the call and making the voice sound like a shortwave broadcast. Second, it was obviously a canned presentation, which proceeded entirely without any interaction from me. Third, the offer was valid only for that evening; I had to make up my mind on the spot. Fourth, it all led up to the question, not whether, but by what means I wished to secure my reservation, such as by credit card. Alas, we passed up our opportunity for 3 days at the resort.
Our culture is awash in such "spiels" that salespeople rattle off to line their pocketbooks, from telemarketers to flyers to TV commercials to ubiquitous email spam offering online medication and Rolex watches. It becomes second nature to get your guard up whenever you hear someone 'coming on' to you with an offer -- you automatically suspect it has more advantage to them than to you. Then we come to church and are told we're to be evangelizing, sharing the "good news", in ancient jargon the gospel or (literally) "God spell". How do we avoid this "spell" or story about Jesus coming across as just another "spiel" that would sell somebody a bill of goods for reasons other than their own well-being?
Evangelism as an occupation has not fared well in North America the last couple of decades. Memories of fallen televangelists such as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart are too fresh. Unfortunately on TV, evangelism became a show, a 'sell job', a slick presentation requiring a full head of hair and set of teeth, bilking little old ladies who mailed in their pension cheques to build gigantic theme parks. Hardly 'good news' but a shameful mockery of what our Lord intended.
Or perhaps our reservations about evangelism come from painful experiences of a more personal nature. Chuck Swindoll writes, "Take the Eager-beaver Approach, for example: 'The more scalps, the better.' This numerical approach is decision-centred, and little (if any) effort is directed toward follow-up or discipleship or cultivating a relationship. These anxious hunters are not difficult to identify. They can usually be overheard counting (out loud) the scalps on their belts or can be seen shooting their flaming arrows into every wagon train they spot. Tact is not their long suit." Perhaps we're leery of evangelism because we've been put off by contact with one of these, who have all the grace of a high-pressure door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman.
Evangelism - Essential; Easy for Some
Yet we know Christians are expected to share the good news; we've been commanded to do so by our Lord. The Great Commission in Mt.28(19,20) tells us to go and "make disciples" of all nations. Jesus is just as direct in Mk.16(15f) when He orders, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." The stakes are high! God's relying on us to convey the message that will make the difference between people we know being saved for eternal life, or condemned and without God forever, shut away from His presence in outer darkness where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt.25:30).
There are some people who find it easy to share the gospel; evangelism is one of the gifts of the Spirit (Eph.4:11). Analysts tell us about 10% of believers have this gift. Hymnist Frances Ridley Havergal would qualify as one. When she was asked to sing at a large gathering in London England, she chose a sacred song. Later a young man, a stranger to her, struck up a conversation with her. He was soon surprised to find that she was quite easily drifting him from the playful banter with which he started into a serious talk about his personal soul-danger and his only hope of safety. The ease with which Frances turned her conversation with others in a spiritual direction was surprising even to herself. She always attributed the gift to the Master. She wrote, "I don't think anyone can say I force the subject.It just all develops one thing out of another, quite naturally, till very soon they find themselves face to face with eternal things, and the Lord Jesus can be freely 'lifted up' before them. I could not contrive a conversation thus."
But even if we're part of the 90% who don't have the "gift" of evangelism, we are still expected to bear witness to Jesus. He commanded in Acts 1(8), "But 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." Some Christians think they can adopt the Mute Approach, which says "I'm just a silent witness for God." Chuck Swindoll comments, "The secret-service saint who settles for this self-centred approach could be tagged a Clairol Christian: no one knows for sure but God.Somewhere along the line this person has swallowed one of Satan's tastiest tidbits: 'Just live a good Christian life.Others will ask you about Christ if they are really interested, so relax.' Frankly, I can count on one hand (and have fingers left over) the number of people who have suddenly come to me and asked me how they might know Jesus Christ." Paul wrote, "Faith comes from hearing" - that requires us to talk about our hope (Rom.10:17).
Don't be uptight. It's possible to witness without coming across as obnoxious -- subtle as a Mack truck. In Acts 8 we find Philip modelling a style of evangelism which can be adapted to communicate the gospel to those who are spiel-wary in our own culture today.
The Philip Approach
In v26 an angel tells Philip to go south from Samaria to a desert road that runs from Jerusalem over to Gaza on the Mediterranean coast. This requires GETTING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. Philip had a successful ministry going in Samaria, complete with crowds and healings - things were really happening. But he was obedient and hiked a long way south for this strange appointment God was setting up. It can be uncomfortable for us to get into witnessing gear. Bob Logan & Tom Clegg cite the following as "blockages to evangelism" that must be overcome: lack of passion and vision (see Luke 15 with Jesus' parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Sons: God is persistently seeking the lost; we need that passion too). Other blockages are fear of inadequacy; lack of strategic and personal prayer (this is a spiritual objective we're talking about); lack of mobilizing and equipping for evangelism (we need sermons on this topic); and activities of the church which are not seeker-friendly. Becoming seeker-sensitive may require us to get out of our comfort zone, in order to get on the road where they're at.
V27, Philip "met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians." Think of the contrasts between this man and Philip. The Ethiopian is likely black, Philip isn't, and they're from vastly different nations. The Ethiopian's a eunuch, physically maimed so as to be sexually neutered; Philip's a family man (Acts 21:9 tells us he has four daughters). The Ethiopian's "an important official", of great authority; Philip is an ordinary Joe, as far as we know. And the Ethiopian's a treasurer, of all things. "Oh boy," I can hear Philip thinking, "I get to witness to an accountant!" Nothing against treasurers, but they tend to be no-nonsense, matter of fact, get-to-the-point bottom-line people not susceptible to easy persuasion. Probably not at the top of your list of top ten "Types of People I'd Like to Evangelize".
But God puts Philip and this fellow in touch with each other. I call this, FIND OUT WHO'S IN YOUR 'EXTENDED FAMILY' - the network of pre-Christians God puts you into association with, to whom you are their point of contact with Jesus Christ. They may be like you or unlike you, but the main thing is, you're in touch with them.
V27 still, "This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship." Take a good look at the map and you'll begin to realize just what this short sentence represents. The palace in Ethiopia was about a thousand miles from Jerusalem. That's like travelling from Nova Scotia to here, by chariot, then going back again. Or starting from here, making a pilgrimage to Little Rock Arkansas and back again (though why anyone would make a pilgrimage to Little Rock is beyond me!). All by slow-moving, horse-drawn chariot, without air-ride suspension. A thousand miles; 2,000 return. I hope he had CAA.
The point being, this man already had to be fairly serious in his spiritual investigation to have invested that much time and trouble in going to Jerusalem to worship. And then when he got there, he couldn't get very close; eunuchs weren't allowed the full rights of Jews, but were kept at a distance, termed a "proselyte of the gate". He had to have been pretty interested in God to put up with that. So with our own contacts we can ask ourselves, "WHERE IS GOD ALREADY AT WORK IN THEIR LIFE?" The Lord may be already speaking to the conscience of someone in a way you have no clue about. Evangelism is never a solo project, you're in tandem with the Holy Spirit, who has access to anyone's mind and heart. Because it's a spiritual enterprise, PRAYER is so important.
The Ethiopian had probably been to Jerusalem for one of the major religious festivals that were held regularly as mass events - Passover, Pentecost, and so on. Similarly for the church, STRATEGIC EVANGELISTIC EVENTS provide an opportunity to invite non-churched friends to hear the good news presented in a creative way. This is where events like Faith In Song or special speakers like Mark Chester or Kirk Durston fit in.
V29, God's Spirit tells Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." Perhaps he jumped up on the running board; in developing countries today, it's common for numerous hitchhikers to be seen enjoying a lift in the back of a truck. "Staying near the chariot" suggests we DEEPEN THE RELATIONSHIP. This prevents evangelism from seeming artificial, hokey, or contrived, because it's part of a caring ongoing friendship. Logan & Clegg tell us to "Identify and pray for your network of pre-Christians; cultivate honest relationships; clarify common points of interest for relationship building; connect friends with other Christians through social events, sports teams or other clubs, seeker groups, small groups and worship service." In general, find ways to 'hang out' and be a friend.
Nearing the chariot, Philip heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet. Scripture of all things -- well well, isn't this an interesting circumstance! Must be something God-sized going on. Philip asks a simple question - "Do you understand what you are reading?" Not too heavy-duty an opening line. V31, the eunuch replies, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" Let's call this principle, FIND OUT THE FELT NEED. Christian Schwarz recommends we zoom in on the needs of the "potential congregation" - all those who might come to our fellowship if they were to receive the gospel. There are many needs an individual can address as a friend, or that a congregation can arrange programs to help with: relationship problems; economic problems; drugs or alcohol addictions; loneliness, stress, overweight, raising children - each of these areas could be made the focus of a small group or larger outreach.
V33, the man reads to Philip a verse from Isaiah that points to the Messiah's rejection and suffering: "In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." Consider the parallel between what happened to Jesus and issues with which the eunuch might have been struggling. Humiliation - what the Ethiopian had been subjected to was more like the way we treat a farmyard animal. Deprived of justice; was it fair he should have to be the way he was? No descendants - that's obvious enough, for Jesus and the eunuch. "His life was taken from the earth" - the verb can mean "remove", one translation puts it "His life is cut off from the earth" (BBE). The Ethiopian was a palace treasurer, in charge of the queen's riches, but his authority and power was only of a derived nature. Was he questioning his life's real significance? Was he feeling cut off from the possibility of ever having a family? Was he questioning the injustice of the way he'd been treated? In these ways he starts resonating with the story of Jesus.
This is where the grace of Christ starts to spill over into the needs and emptiness of the seeker. Be asking, WHERE DOES JESUS' GRACE INTERSECT WITH THE LIFE AND NEEDS OF THIS PERSON? He was brought low for our sakes. He was wounded for our transgressions. He became poor so we might become rich (2Cor.8:9). Jesus' suffering, His humiliation, and servant attitude make Him accessible to anyone who has troubles and pain; that's why, through the Resurrection, He can be our Saviour, our Helper. As we have received His forgiveness and grace and assurance in our own lives, we can humbly and gently begin to bear witness to that to others who are going through similar stress.
V34, the man asked whether Isaiah was referring to himself or someone else. What a great question! BE ALERT FOR THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY. Mark Mittelberg, Lee Strobel, and Bill Hybels have written a great resource called Becoming a Contagious Christian. One chart in it is called a "Readiness Scale". Level 4, the Cynic, is characterized by hostility; they're not interested or open to being influenced. We can ask questions to try to get at the reason for their hostility. Level 3, the Skeptic, shows disbelief; we can ask questions to try to discover the reason for their doubts. Level 2, the Spectator, is characterized by indifference; they may be open to ideas, but they're not motivated to apply anything personally. We can try to help them think about matters of ultimate importance: why they're here, what their purpose in life is, where they stand before God. Level 1, the Seeker, shows interest, a growing degree of openness; they want to know the truth and follow it. We can ask questions to find out the barriers that are keeping them from trusting Christ. We can move them toward crossing the line of faith. Philip recognized the eunuch was ready to hear more - the window of opportunity was wide open.
V35, "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus." I call this, BE READY TO RELATE THE BASICS, CREATIVELY. Contagious Christian divides this up into 3 parts based on Paul's story in Acts 26(4-27): Before Christ, Meeting Christ, and After Christ. The theme of this "describes the biggest difference in your life since you've known Christ." We can share how we received Christ in a process that's simple, clear, and easy to imitate. It's suggested we end with a question or statement that evokes a response from the other person. Maybe there's a Scripture verse that fits well with our story.
It's an interweaving of our personal story and God's story, "God spell". There are several tools that we can draw from for the basics of the gospel - Campus Crusade's The Four Spiritual Laws, the Navigators' Bridge to Life, or other handy resources available at your local Christian bookstore. Just try to personalize it in a way that's engaging, not too stiff and formal. Be creative - we claim our new Heavenly Father's the Creator, don't we?
Here's an example that's maybe a bit too blunt, but got the point across. Dr TC Horton (not Tim) was always ready to seize an opportunity to tell what God had done for a world of lost sinners. He entered an elevator one day and called for the floor at which he wished to stop. Normally in an elevator you talk about "up" or "down", but Dr Horton turned to the elevator boy and asked, "Are you bound for Heaven or hell?" The startled young man replied, "I don't know." When the desired floor was reached, the elevator stopped, and the door was opened. But Dr Horton made no move to go. The elevator boy waited a moment, and then said to him, "Why don't you go? The door is open." Dr Horton answered, "So is the door of Heaven," and walked out, leaving the young man to make the very obvious application.
Back to Acts 8: v36, they came to some water and the eunuch asked about being baptized; v38, Philip baptized him (note: the eunuch went down INTO the water then came up OUT OF the water, clearly referring to baptism by immersion). So we can HELP THE PERSON ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR DECISION AND BE INTEGRATED INTO THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH. Philip didn't get much chance to do 'follow-up' in this case, but the conversion must have stuck, for tradition credits this eunuch with introducing the gospel to the whole country of Ethiopia.
Integrating a new Christian into the life of the congregation is made easier by inviting them to be part of a small group of 5-10 people. Social events can also be a good non-threatening place to bring newcomers. Sharing the good news really has to focus on the genuine needs of people. Logan & Clegg observe, "The reason why people continue or increase involvement depends on whether real needs are being met and positive relationships are formed."
Finally, v40, Philip kept on traveling about, "preaching the gospel in all the towns..." KEEP CONTAGIOUS. Be constantly praying, asking God's guidance on whom to speak to and how. Christian Schwarz suggests that a church direct its small groups to regularly spend 10-15 minutes focusing on the "extended family" of group members: progress or difficulties in the relationship; prayer requests for unchurched friends; pondering what the church could offer to assist people's efforts to share the good news. It's an ongoing matter; Jesus likened the Kingdom to leaven, always at work, spreading through the whole batch of dough (Mt.13:33).
Wood You or Wooden't You?
A woman in a midwestern town some years ago took an unusual method of testifying to her faith in Christ, and goading her church friends to be less lukewarm and indifferent. You might call them 'surface Christians'. One day she knew they would be passing by, so she stood beside a wooden Indian in front of a cigar store and was speaking to the Indian about Christ. When her friends ridiculed her for creating such a scene, she explained: "I would rather be a real Christian and talk religion to a wooden Indian, than be a wooden Christian who never talked religion to anyone."
One last story from Bo Boshers, who adapted the Contagious Christian material for students. He recalls, "I will never forget the afternoon I sat in a fishing boat with my older brother and told him my story of forgiveness and grace.It wasn't the first time I'd talked to him about what God had done for me; in fact, I'd been sharing the gospel with him for almost 20 years.Every time I tried to talk about spiritual things, I got the same arguments about how he just couldn't buy 'the God deal'.But that afternoon on the lake, I knew something was different.When I finished my story, I asked my brother a question: 'What's keeping you from receiving this gift from God?' Instead of resistance and arguments, there was silence.A flood of emotion washed through me.After 20 years, could this really be the day that my brother would surrender his life to Christ? In the brief moments I waited for his answer, my heart beat so fast I could barely breathe!
At last, my brother looked at me and asked, 'What do I need to do?' Silently, I said a quick prayer asking God to keep me from crying so I could tell my brother what to do next.'Just pray a simple prayer,' I responded.Then I heard my brother say the most awesome words, 'Dear Jesus...' Hearing the first words of his prayer to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.What a moment! I will never forget it...Think of the relationships you have with people who are far from God.Are there people in your life right now who might be just a question away from giving their lives to Christ?"
Let's pray.