Now we're going to study methods and problems of evangelism. This is the last of our series of studies on evangelism. Section one, New Testament illustrations of methods. There's always a danger in methods, but there's no danger if you follow the New Testament methods. I'd like to see you substitute New Testament methods for some of these psychological ones that some may be using. Number one, catching fish. Remember that our Lord did use this simile, so we're perfectly safe here. A, called by Christ. Called by Christ. Matthew four and nineteen said, follow me. and I will make you fishers of men." This was a simile which he himself used. And these they were taught by him. They left their nets and followed him. And the time that they spent with the Lord Jesus resulted in their knowing how to fish for men. See, for individuals. An illustration of this in Matthew. The Lord told Peter to take a line and a hook, drop it in, and take the first fish that came up. So this is individually we are fishing for men. I don't carry this beyond where Scripture carries it. But just think what it means now for a fisherman to fish with a hook. The number one rule is keep out of sight. I think this is what spoiled most of our usefulness. Make note of these or just keep them in your mind as you like. Just think a little bit what it means when we become so prominent that people say, oh, Dr. so-and-so saved me. And forget that they had any dealings with God, whatever, you see. Or I would like to be led to the Lord by so-and-so. He's a very famous soul winner, evangelist. That's the first thing is to keep out of sight. Even the devil knows this, you know. He's got people believing that there is no devil now. That leaves him free to do anything he wants to do. Don't let him be any smarter than you are. Then I think another thing that you need to remember is that you are trying to catch men alive. You're not shooting fish in a rain barrel. you're trying to catch them alive. And that's the word that's used. From henceforth he shall catch men. The word catch in the Greek language is a word which means to catch alive. Remember this. You're not wanting to catch dead sinners. You're wanting to catch live believers. There are many other things, too, in connection with that. But let's pass on. D with nets. He was catching them individually with a hook. Now, they also caught fish with nets. And you have the record of in Luke and in John of how they use nets. In Luke, the Lord said, let down your nets, plural. And they said, well, we've already tried, but nothing happened. But since you say so, we will let down a net. So they let down a net. And that net was so full that it began to break. chair and they called for people to help them. Good enough for them. They didn't have faith enough to do what the Lord said. So we need to believe God about souls being saved. It bothers me that at most prayer meetings I hear people say, Lord, save some soul or save one soul tonight. You only ask for one. I think that's all you'll get. Mr. Spurgeon was talking to a young preacher and the preacher said to him, I'm disturbed because I don't seem to see the results that I'd like to see. And Mr. Spurgeon said, well, you certainly don't expect people to get saved every time you preach to you. Oh, no, he said, well, he said, that's why you don't. We ought to consider whether we really have confidence enough in God to let down a net. Here again, guard against guard against saying, well, laying down a net or growing in the net means using psychological methods. No, it doesn't at all. It simply means that we expect that in addressing a great number of people, that God will get some fish out of that for himself. And he, successful only when he directs. John twenty-one and five. He said, children, have you any meat? Actually, the language in which our New Testament was given, that is in a negative. He said, children, you don't have any meat, do you? He knew they didn't have any meat. That's what he really said. Children, you don't have any meat, do you? They weren't doing so well without him. Now, after he told them where to catch the fish, they were successful. And then they came to shore, dragging their nets, and the Lord had some fish already on a fire coal burning. there he was already cooking had some fish cooked so you see the Lord could catch face without people the people couldn't catch face without the Lord but when the Lord directed the people they caught love fish you put those three things together you'll have a pretty good idea about how to do this thing the Lord can do it without you you can't do it without him but with his direction you can do it and do it well just be sure that you have his direction And F, nets must be washed and mended. Now, don't carry this figure too far. Don't say, well, the nets will be our Sunday school, or the net is our organization. Don't carry it too far. Nets were simply the ordinary things that they used. Now, the heathen sacrificed to their nets. This is very common in pagan land. They always have a ceremony, and then they offer up incense, and they pray to their nets, because they think their nets get the fish for them. Now, let's not worship our methods. Let's not worship the means of use. Say you use an automobile for God. This is a wonderful net. Every Sunday night, you can have your automobile full of people to bring to the gospel meeting, or if you're having special little meetings. It's no trick at all. It's just a matter of getting on the telephone and calling enough people. You get somebody to fill your car up. So you do that. Or suppose that you use your dinner table for a minute. My parents did this a great deal. My mother was a good Hollimer cook, and my father loved to talk to people, and so she would ply them with food, and then my father would talk to them around the table. And it worked. We saw nearly all of our neighbors get saved. Now, are you going to say, well, they get saved because I cook such good meals? Are you going to say they get saved because I do such a good job of talking? Are you going to say, all I'm doing is using a net? Now, let me keep my net clean and let me keep it mended. I may be sure that I do my part well, but let me depend on God himself to get these sold. Now, the second simile is farming. Matthew thirteen describes the sower that went forth the soul. First Corinthians three in nine tells us that we are God's husbandry. That is, we are God's farms. Now, A, we begin with plowing. You must do this. You must begin with plowing. Isaiah twenty-eight, twenty-four says, does the plowman plow all day the sow? Well, if he doesn't plow enough, there isn't many used to doing the sowing. First Corinthians nine says that we ought to plow in hopes. B, this prepares the good ground. Matthew thirteen, twice mentions the seed falling into good ground. A good ground isn't ground that has any merit of its own. Good ground is ground that is properly prepared. And C, Christ was the corn of wheat that died. on twelve twenty four except a corn of wheat grain of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone let's remember that we're not telling people about a plan of salvation we're telling people about the Lord Jesus Christ we're not telling people about a church or or a chapel or a hall we're telling them about Christ we're not trying to get people to understand the plan of salvation we're trying to get them to accept the person We remember this. We keep Christ before them. Indeed, we sow the good seeds. We do that. God gives us the privilege of having a share in this. Now, if you do like a little child and go out and dig up the seeds the next day and see if it's sprouted yet, you're not going to get much of a crop. Many children have done that. Plant the seeds and then go dig them up the next day and see if they've got anything yet. And sometimes we think we're just going to tell people the way of salvation and all be saved today. We sow the good seed. E, the devil, sows tears of false profession. Now let him do it. That's his business. He doesn't need your help. He, the devil, sows the tears of false profession. F, patience is needed to wait. James five and seven says, Be patient, brethren. Under the coming of the Lord, he says, The husbandman waiteth for the freshest fruits of the earth. I think this teaches us that we ought to be satisfied to wait until the return of Christ to find out what the results have been. If you're anxious to produce results now so that you can turn into kind of a record, you're going to get a lot of false professions. We are called to share the harvest. The Lord Jesus said in John four, He that reapeth, receiveth wages. And second Timothy two says that the husbandman must be first partaker of the fruits. There's a happy day ahead when we're going to share in that harvest. Now the third figure that is used is filling water pots. in John chapter two, the first miracle at the marriage at Cana of Galilee. And we notice a few things about these water pots. There may be more, but I found seven, and that satisfied me, so I didn't look for any more. Maybe you'll find nine. Here are the seven that I found, eh? They were cold and dead. Now what can you do for a cold, dead sinner? They were religious and empty. These were religious water pots. They were used for the purification by the Jews. There are a lot of big religious empty water pots all around you. What can you do with them? See? Fill with the word. Fill them with the word. But you say they don't believe the word. Well, the word is not only water, it's the Lord. You don't have to argue about it. Just use it on them. They say that it won't do them any good. They've already read the Bible. But they must not have understood it, so fill them up with water, the water of the word. And D, the Lord turns it to joy. I'll be sure that you leave it to him. The part that you can do, he allows you to do. The part that only he can do, we better keep our hands off. He turns it to joy. Eve, I've left room here so that you can write this out. This is the beginning of a lifetime of miracles. Remember it says, this beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee conversion. The new birth is the beginning. of a lifetime of miracles. All of us who have known the Lord any length of time at all know that he is constantly performing additional miracles for that first one when he brought us into his family. S, this glorifies God. And G, it leads others to believe. This cannot be said about any of the psychological methods or any of these human means of getting professions. Section two, good methods of evangelism. One, reaching them one by one. There's a slogan that some have used. Each one win one. Reaching them one by one. And then I've given you a few examples which you can look up. A. As Andrew found his brother, Peter. Some of you may have a brother or a sister or another relative that you could win to the Lord. Andrew found his brother, Peter. B. As Jesus found Philip. Some people will get saved without any human agency, whatever. And I think this is a proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our day. See, the reason that nobody was needed to win Philip, the Lord Jesus, could do it himself, that's because he was there. And the reason that the Holy Spirit can win souls today, whether you do anything to help him or not, is because he's here. And then see, as Philip found Nathaniel. This is all in John one. Philip found Nathaniel. And he has Philip the deacon found the Ethiopian. That's in Acts chapter eight. This is a different Philip. The first Philip was one of the Lord's disciples, one of his apostles. The other one was one of the first deacons chosen in the sixth chapter of Acts. who later became an evangelist, he found the Ethiopian. And E, as Paul found Onesimus. Where can you find souls? Well, Paul found Onesimus in jail. Philip found the Ethiopian down in the desert. God knows where they are. He'd like to lead you to them. Number two, preaching to crowds. Now these may be large or small. That isn't the point. If you're trying to set some kind of a record, you'll have to get a bigger stadium and several venues. But I don't know that that's necessary. The Lord Jesus took time to talk to one poor woman when he passed through Samaria. And if the creator of the universe has time to talk to one, it isn't beneath my dignity to preach to a dozen, I'm sure. Don't think that you're not doing anything for God. But one of the best One of the best meetings I ever had, the entire congregation, was converted. Everybody in the meeting got saved that night. Just one fellow came in. It was a blizzard. Nobody else could get there. And he was on the street and didn't have any place to go, and he came into the place where I was preaching, and we sat down with our feet up to the stove, and I saw him led to Christ that night. Now, wouldn't I rather have That kind of a meeting. One in the congregation and a thousand and nobody really gets to the Lord. A. As Peter did to the multitude around the house in Acts two. Now it says they were in the house and the house where they were was filled. And then it says the people gathered and there was a great group of them. So I assume that they were all around the house. I don't know what Peter did but he went up on the rooftop. There were flat roof houses there. How he did it. but he preached to this multitude. And B, as Peter did in Solomon's porch. Solomon's porch was really a kind of a walkway where people could congregate, get in out of the weather, open sides, and Peter preached to a great crowd there in the next chapter of Acts. C, as Stephen did in the council chambers. You say, I don't want to have to preach in front of people like that, but why not? Stephen was martyred at the end of his sermon, but Stephen left a great record of having become like his master, like the Lord Jesus himself, in praying for those who put him to death. And I'm sure that there were some brought to Christ as a result of it. And D, as Paul did in the synagogue, I've given you three examples. There are more. The Acts often speaks of his preaching in the synagogues. E, as Paul did in the marketplaces. A great many missionaries have used this last method to great advantage. You can always find a crowd around the marketplaces. And this is true in every country in the world. The marketplace with us would be downtown. And you'd be surprised what you can do in a crowd and do it without ostentation, do it without causing any problem. Wherever people are, there are lost souls and there are needy souls. Souls that are ready. We're just ready to be led to them. Now number three, we ought to go to the people. Now you might put an underline, put a mark under that word too, because it isn't enough for you to open up some kind of a building, a hall or a chapel or a church building and hang a sign out and make a gospel cafeteria out of it and say if they want the gospel they'll come here and get it. That isn't what the Lord told us to do. He said to go to them. A. Use well the liberty we enjoy. It's wonderful to live in a country where we're even protected and not opposed in the preaching of the gospel. Now, you do have to be careful that you don't stand in the corner and distribute tracks and cause litter in the streets because you could be blamed for that. But there are many other ways that you can distribute literature, and we do have a lot of liberty. Let's use it while we enjoy it. And then the... buy up the time and opportunities. You don't know whether you're going to be able to do this next week, next month, next year, or not. And then I've appended some letters here in parentheses, a kind of a sub-sub heading, to suggest four things. A, in parentheses, ring doorbells. I keep hammering on this, but I want you to do it. It works. And B, use the mail. It's a marvelous opportunity to take a telephone book and address an envelope to each of those. I know a group that took a large telephone book and tore it up and just distributed the pages, one page to each person or two or three pages if they wanted them. They took them home and they addressed envelopes and they came back together and stuffed the tracks into them and contributed the money to mail them out. And it did a world of good for the people themselves. And they saw a great many led to the Lord before they were through with that campaign in that city. I don't say it'll work every time, but if the Lord leads you to do it, it's a method that has worked. And see the printed page. It's hard to overestimate the value of the printed page. Now some people can afford to buy literature. Some people go into the literature business. Some people type a mimeograph literature. My father didn't have money for any of those, but he used to get free cards from a printer. And he had a nice handwriting, and he would write on these cards in a legible handwriting, good gospel texts. And he used these all over the country. I still meet people who remember this from sixty years ago. And I can remember my father going out with these pockets bulging with these little cards. It cost him nothing but a five-cent bottle of ink. That's all it was in those days. And a little time of the paint. If you really want to use the printed page or something of this kind, you'll find a way to do it. And D, radio and TV. What a field we have here. And you don't have to beg for the money. God will give you the money. to do whatever he wants you to do. He hasn't given me very many radio stations, but I have the privilege of preaching the gospel and a member of states and have been doing so for over thirty years. Now back to the subheadings without the parentheses. Ready for seed. Count on the Holy Spirit to bless the Word. When I say count on him, I mean depend upon him. Don't think that you have to do something to manufacture results. You have sown the good seed. Now what do you do next? Well, what does a farmer do? And he puts the seed in the ground. He goes home and tends to his other business. And he expects God to send the rain and the sunshine. He expects that God will do the work that man can't do. Count on the Holy Spirit. And D, work in fellowship with believers, but avoid... organization. A group of Christians will get together. They'll decide we're going to distribute tracks in our neighborhood. And this is nice. This is lovely. I've enjoyed this with groups of Christians ever since I was a boy. But then after a while they decide, well, we ought to do this. Why do this? Why don't we get organized? And then they start building a machine. And machines take oil. I mean money. And the first thing you know, you're all bogged down in a lot of organizationalism and in the long run, you're not doing as much as you were doing before. I've seen it time after time. Fellowship with believers is one thing. Organization is quite another and quite unnecessary. Now, section number three, problems of evangelism. Because you're going to have problems. One, Satanic opposition. The sixth chapter of Ephesians says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and against wicked spirits in the heavenlies, the revised version says. And you're no match for him. He's been asked for several thousand years. He knows a lot more about it than you do. But there's some things on their side, eh? Only the Holy Spirit can triumph. First John four and four says, You will overcome because greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. I'm no match for Satan, but the Holy Spirit who lives within my body is a match for him. Satan uses men to oppose the gospel. This may sound like I'm a little bit cynical, but I'll tell you this very plainly, that most of the opposition in the book of the Acts came from religious people, not from the irreligious. And I've had the same experience in my own life. Religious people do more to oppose the spread of the gospel than anybody else. And in Romans Romans, verse two, he says that the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles to oppose them. And then in First Corinthians, the Apostle said that there is a great door opened up unto me and there are many adversaries. I think this is par for the course. I think whenever you've got a great door, you can expect many adversaries to go along with that. And see, he sends false teachers. Second Corinthians eleven tells about the false apostles and deceitful workers. And he says, don't be surprised. Satan himself has transformed into an angel of light and his ministers into the ministers of righteousness. So Satan has his ministers too. We've got some right here in this town who are so strongly Unitarian in their belief that their blasphemies are insulting the Lord Jesus. Those aren't Christians. They just carry a Christian name. We know when a person is a real Christian because he loves the Lord Jesus and he honors him and he exalts him. Now, the second problem, as you're going to face, is the apathy of the people. Statesmen tell us that the biggest problem we have here in the United States is apathy. A, at Athens. B, at Corinth. C, Felix. And D, Agrippa. Now you look up these cases and see how totally indifferent they were to spiritual things. A third, bad influence, hypocrites. Hypocrites. I tell them, save people, what my father used to tell them, you have to be smaller than anything before you can hide behind them. But we do have to acknowledge that hypocrisy is a terrible hindrance to Christian things. A, it hinders others. B. They prophesy. These who are not real are constantly trying to get people into their religion. C. They are enemies of the cross. That's what God calls them, Philippians three. And D. They are apostate deceivers. First Timothy four. We're not calling names. We're just reading what it says in the Bible. And then, last of all, for our own lack of loving concern for souls. A, because we have left our first love. B, because we have lost confidence in God and the gospel. And C, because we don't share his love for the law. These three things in your own life will be a great hindrance, and we need to pray about them, judge them, and put them out. We've lost our first love. We've lost confidence in God and the gospel, and we don't share His love.