MEMORISE:
"For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." Acts 17:23
READ: Acts 17:22-28
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
MESSAGE
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus likened evangelism to fishing.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
When you want to go fishing, you need to have some bait that will attract the fish to you before you catch it in your net or hook. This is the same way we must approach evangelism. If you make it obvious while approaching people that you have come to preach the gospel, they are likely to put up a front, but if you approach them with a possible point of interest and they warm up to you, then you can present the gospel to them.
In Acts 17:22-26, Paul wanted to win a community for God. Having noticed that they were already ignorantly worshipping God at an altar dedicated to “THE UNKNOWN GOD”, he decided to start from there. When you want to preach to someone, find out their interest or curiosity first, then start from there. If you approach a person to discuss his/her area of interest, you would definitely get their attention and then you can present the gospel afterwards.
One day, I was on a plan and seated beside me was a man who had gold necklaces, a gold wristwatch and even his walking stick was gold. I said to him, “Sir, do you know my father? He owns plenty of gold, He even has gold factories all over the world.” I had the man’s full attention. He asked “what is his name? I said His name is chief Emmanuel” and then I went on to describe God some more to him. By the time I was through, he was eager to meet my Father, so I introduced him to Jehovah, the King of all kings. I am sure nobody had ever presented God to him in that light before, so it was easier for him to accept. If you are preaching to a farmer, speak the language of farming that he understands; if you are talking to politicians, tell them Someone somewhere has been a leader even before we were all born and no one has ever been able to overthrown Him. Get good knowledge about the person you want to preach to and approach them from their area of interest. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.
KEY POINT:
Every successful fisherman goes fishing with a bait. If you don’t have any bait when fishing for souls, you may not get any results.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 8-10
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 9: HOLD THE FORTH.
1. Ho, my comrades, see the signal, waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.
o Refrain:
“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”
2. See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on;
Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!
3. See the glorious banner waving! Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader’s Name we triumph over every foe.
4. Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!
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