All to Him I Owe

Evangelism does not require an extrovert personality! It does require us to be obedient and loving.

I am afraid that many of us are overwhelmed by the example of evangelistic people who would often be described as being a “people person.” They are outgoing and interesting. They seem to be able to start a conversation with perfect strangers. They have a smile and winning personality that seems to naturally draw people to them. A particular personality may seem like the key ingredient to evangelism but it is not. The Lord does not limit his command to those with certain personalities and neither does he command us to be extroverts.

The gospel’s power is not restrained or enhanced by our personality. In Romans 1:16 Paul states that the gospel “…is the power of God unto salvation.” A gospel message that is this powerful simply needs to be given! I’m convinced that all of us need to simply be obedient to the great commission and go give the gospel. Don’t use your personality as an excuse for failing to obey a God given directive. An introvert personality can be just as equally used as an extrovert personality especially if our obedience is motivated by love. The more we love God and our neighbors the easier it is to rise above the difficulty of a personality to reach someone for Christ.

We are daily walking by people without Christ while the most powerful life changing message is in our hands. What a tragedy for us to waste such a powerful message while we excuse our lack of obedience because of our personality.

Many of us attended the Exchange Seminar and left with an intention to increase our gospel witness. To those who did, I have a question for you: How are you doing? Do you need to get back at it? Make a point this week to pursue one of the people in your find five list.

Many of us have been saved for an extended period of time. Let me ask you this question: When was the last time you initiated a gospel driven relationship with someone and gave the gospel to them?

The excuse of personality is one I highlighted above but is just one of many that we use. Would you join me in throwing out all of our excuses and just obediently, lovingly give the gospel this week?

The term gun shy was originally used to describe a bird dog that cowered at the sound of a gun. Over time, it began being applied to people who are wary, distrustful, and frightened, as a result of a previous experience.

I am a gun-shy pastor. On a regular basis, I have to fight my wariness, distrust, and fear of people. Some people whom I have loved and served and in whom I have invested have fired back at me with hurtful words and actions. Their responses have left me with a reluctance to love others again. But despite what others have said or done, God has not given me an allowance to stop loving people. I’m guessing that some of you can identify with what I’m talking about. You, too, have experienced both the risk and reward of lovingly investing in others. So, how do we overcome a gun-shy complex and love the people God has given us? Let me suggest three things that have been helping me.

1.    God’s hesed love for me

In his helpful book, the Loving Life, Paul Miller defines God’s hesed love as “love without an exit strategy.” Have you ever thought about the fact that God loves us with no anticipation of ever ceasing to love us? Though I may grieve him with my actions, words, and thoughts, He has a relentless love that never takes an exit, while He waits for me to get my act together again. Our hurtfulness towards God is far greater than the hurt others have caused us. God’s faithful love towards us not only sets a standard for us but also inspires us to love as He loves.

2.    Calvary and Christ’s death for me

Calvary shows us the utter selflessness of Christ’s death for us. He endured pain, embarrassment, and harassment to enable God to do us good. He did not just do one kind thing and wait for our response; He endured the cross and all of the difficulty surrounding it, regardless of our response. His disciples fled, betrayed Him, and cowered; but Christ endured. After His resurrection, He did not avoid those who had hurt him but instead pursued them, desiring fellowship with them. I would have had a hard time standing on the beach seeking fellowship with Peter. But Christ loved Peter and sought him out after that fruitless night of fishing. God’s enduring love towards us not only inspires us but also enables us to love others in the same way. Because of Calvary and the redeeming work of Christ in us, love for others is possible. The desire and ability to do the right thing is possible, because of God’s work in us (Philippians 2:13).

3.    Hebrews 6:10, my “ministry life preserver”

This is the verse I turn to when I am struggling. I love it because it directs my thoughts toward a proper view of the ministry. For instance, isn’t it interesting that God calls the ministry a “work and labor of love?” God knows the difficulty we face loving others and even describes it as sweaty, laborious work. Sometimes it is just comforting to know that God knows this is hard work. That hard work, though, is never in vain! God also says in Hebrews 6:10 that He is not unrighteous to forget that work and labor of love. Regardless of how people respond to my love and ministry to them, God never forgets.

We have all been called into ministries that involve serving and loving people. Nearly all of us can probably recount the gunshots of hurt that we have received in ministry. Are you gun shy? Have you found yourself creating a distance between you and others, because of fear that you will get hurt again? That distance between you and others needs to be closed. Overcome wariness of people with the Word of God, and go love those whom God has called you to.