From The Inside Out

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” Luke 6:45

My friend asked, “How does the evangelist equip the saints to do the work of service as described in Ephesians 4?”

First, evangelists equip the saints by being examples. Paul wrote to the elders in Ephesus, “prove yourselves to be examples to the flock.”.  Evangelists model a heart for the lost. People are inspired by examples, stories from your life, and your experience. They want to see how it can be done. They need to know they can do it too.

Second, evangelists equip the saints when they enjoy developing of relationships with unbelievers and celebrate when others do the same. They will share how they showed love, served, and built a friendship with their non-Christian friends. This “pre-gospel” work is essential in preparing the hearts of unbelievers to receive the truth of the gospel. As Zig Ziglar said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care, about them.” Being a good witness begins with a sincere love for those God brings into your life. If you sincerely care about them, are honest and humble, they will listen.

Finally, evangelists pray. They ask God to draw people to Himself, convict of sin, and to change hearts. They will usually pray for them by name and encourage others to do likewise.

We can attempt to equip the saints from the outside in by being overly reliant on programs, or we can ask God to speak to their hearts, working from the inside out. We can guilt believers into sharing the gospel, “If you are a good Christian, you will share the gospel.” We can work from the outside, hoping that God will change their heart. Or, we can connect people with Christ, and allow Him to reveal to them His love for a lost world. Once someone connects with the Lord Jesus, they will never be the same.