A Short Thought on Evangelism

In regards to spiritual warfare, According to author Dave Earley, “The war is real.” I experienced this truth myself when I first started preaching 7 years ago. The night before I was to preach my third sermon, I had a dream. In my dream, the stage and pulpit area were covered by giant steaks sticking out of the ground and there was barbed wire everywhere, much like a scene from a World War II movie. In my dream, I couldn’t get onto the stage and I had an intense feeling of being attacked. When I awoke, I was unsure what it meant. That morning, there were several situations that became distractions. People had problems they needed immediate help with. Others attacked me over trivial issues. The worship team couldn’t get their equipment to work and “needed” my help. It seemed like one thing after another kept me from preaching that morning. It was not until I was finally at the pulpit preaching that I realized the connection between what I had just dreamed and experienced and the text I was preaching. I was preaching Ephesians 6:10-17 on spiritual warfare. I was clear to me that day that spiritual warfare is real. 

When it comes to evangelism, spiritual warfare is Satan’s avenue to destroy us and halt the advancement of the Word of God and the salvation of lost people. As we evangelize lost people, Satan not only attacks us with many weapons, but he also attacks our listeners. He shoots fiery arrows of condemnation, deception, distraction and temptation at us before we approach non-believers and during our conversations with them. Just as he seeks to deter us from sharing the gospel with lost people, he seeks to deter the lost from hearing the gospel. He blinds their eyes from the truth with the same fiery arrows. I am reminded of a time when I was sharing the gospel with a young man in our church and his only response was, “I’m just too messed up for God.” Satan was blinding his eyes to see the grace that God provides in the gospel. After about fifteen minutes of trying to break him out of this deception, the Holy Spirit broke through and he burst into tears and accepted God’s free gift of salvation. There have been times when sharing the gospel has not turned the same results and it was discouraging. This is another tool that Satan uses. When we don’t see the results we want, we become discouraged and Satan uses that to cause us to think that we should just give up or that we just don’t have the “gift” of evangelism. 

The greatest tool against the wiles of the devil in spiritual warfare is to be deep into God’s Word constantly. Only the Word of God can help us realize that the trick Satan uses are just that, tricks. Being knowledgeable of God’s Word and being closely connected to God through His Word also allows us to be aware of Satan’s attacks and tactics. Though sharing the gospel does not always yield the results we desire, we have to remember that though Satan can blind their eyes, Christ has the victory and is able and willing to release them from their blindness and give them sight. But we must continue to share the gospel so that He can use us to give them sight. We are not called to produce results, we are called to faithfully share the gospel as commanded and allow the Holy Spirit to deal with their hearts.

Biblical Theology for Transformation - 27th Posting

"For we who have believed enter that rest, as He has said, 'As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest,' although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.'"


-Hebrews 4:3-4


God created the world in how many days? And on the seventh day he....? What? Rested! We celebrate this truth as believers because we love what it signifies. Does God NEED rest? Duh! Of course not! So why does He rest? Answer: To be an example for us to rest and enjoy Him and His creation once a week as He did. A day to rest from our works and toils and to rest! Of course we love this truth. We are being given heavenly authority to STOP WORKING and take a break!

But is this really the primary reason that God rested on the seventh day? It is what we are most often told and learn as children and then never really take it any further as we grow up. Of course there is truth in the fact that God is setting an example on our behalf, but what is the example? Well, according to Hebrews 4:3-4, there is more to this "rest" that we may have learned in Sunday school.

Looking deeper into Hebrews 4:3, we have to first identify and define this word "rest". The unknown author is clearly referring to "eternal rest" when he uses the the term "rest".  How do we know that? Because in 4:8 the author wrote, "For if Joshua had given them (Wandering Hebrews about to enter the Promised Land) rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on." What does this mean? It means that when God told His people He had prepared a "rest" for them, He was not referring to the Promised Land. But, at the same time, He WAS referring to the Promised Land. God was clearly giving the people a physical rest and a place to rest and dwell when He handed them the land of Canaan (The Promised Land). But that was simply a physical picture of a spiritual reality that He was offering them eternal rest in His arms. We know this because the author of Hebrews says that God was not speaking of a physical rest because if He was, then the story would have been finished once the Jews entered the Promised Land. In Hebrews 4:8, the author tells us that Joshua did NOT take the Jews to their "rest" even though God called this land the place of rest. Obviously, God meant something else when He referred to "rest". He was speaking of a greater rest that He offered to all His people, an eternal rest.

So what about God's rest? Why did He rest on the seventh day of creation? If the reason is not primarily to set an example, then why?

Just as God gave the Israelites a physical picture of a spiritual truth, He does the same at creation. God gave the Israelites the physical land as a picture of the true, spiritual, rest that He offered them. In the same way, God rested from His works of creation as a picture of the true, spiritual rest that He offers us today. God's rest on the seventh day, was obviously NOT because He needed it, and it wasn't primarily just to set an example of resting. God's resting on the seventh day, and all subsequent Sabbath day rests, were designed to show us one thing, rather, one Person...Jesus Christ. IN CHRIST, we have eternal rest. Jesus is the center point of every single word in the Bible. He is the point, and all truths must be about Him and to His glory. Therefore, God's rest, according to the author of Hebrews, was a picture of how we will, like Him, rest from our works one day, eternally, not just physically on Sundays.

So why does this matter? It shows God's great desire from the beginning of time to provide us with eternal rest and security. It is God telling us that, before we even sinned, He planned for us a way out in love and grace through Jesus Christ. It also shows us that our physical rest is a time to reflect on our spiritual rest. Every time you get a chance to stop and break from your toil and work, use that time to remember the toil and work your Savior went through to give you an eternal rest. Use your rest to reflect on rest, and as you do, rest in what Jesus has done for you...honestly, it's quite relaxing and enjoyable.