Ephesians 4:11-16 And He Gave Evangelists… (3)

“And He Gave Evangelists…” (3)

Introduction: Purpose of these lessons:

• Understanding the need of and the work of an evangelist is critical whether you stay at this church or must relocate. It is disturbing to often see both evangelists and shepherds who do not know or practice what God called them to do.
• Ephesians 4:11-16 reminds us of the importance of evangelists and shepherds in a local church as gifts God has given to equip Christians so that every part of the body can do its share, which causes the growth of the body and the edifying of itself in love.
• My primary purpose in these lessons has been to call attention to the great need we have throughout the brotherhood to raise up evangelists and shepherds who truly reflect God’s purposes in Ephesians 4:11-16. The work of evangelists has especially been an enigma to Christians everywhere partially because we evangelists tend not to say much about our work and also because there are considerable differences in how preachers do their work. Thus it is easy for Christians to be confused about what the word is supposed to be and what we should look for in a preacher. 
• In this final lesson of our series we will consider the challenges & expectations of a prospective preacher and the challenges of a church in their relationship with him and his work.

1. The Preacher and the Local Church
   1. Woodland Hills is not a typical church, especially when it comes to preaching and teaching. Not many churches have the number of men and women who possess the drive and desire to know God’s word and the talent to teach/preach the word. Because of you, such desire and talent becomes contagious, causing others to want to join in the effort. 
   2. Ephesians 4:15-16 “…Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. That’s God’s goal and purpose for us and the elders and I love the work and progress in that regard. The church is learning to build itself up in love. Beautiful.
   3. Therefore, training other men to teach and preach (who have no plans of full-time preaching) is vital to the future and health of a church.
      1. We need future shepherds who have been trained and practiced in preaching and teaching. That has been a major failure in many congregations. Ephesians 4:11-16 includes the shepherds in equipping the saints. 
      2. Preaching and teaching creates a maturing of the church as a whole. Ephesians 4:15— Maturity is indicated by the ability to speak the truth in love. 
      3. Remember, we have a responsibility to the kingdom, not just to this church. Preparing and training men and women to teach (2 Timothy 2:2) is important for the kingdom as a whole when some of our members have the need to move to others areas (Julie is teaching a woman in Florence, AL that may never have heard the gospel if she did not move there). 
   4. However, as mentioned previously, there is more to the work of an evangelist than just a sermon. It is not uncommon for a men to get good at preaching a sermon, and then decide that qualifies them to be an evangelist. Or, the church decides we do not need a preacher because the men can just do the preaching.
      1. This has led to the increasing problem for churches who have a man who never trained and therefore does not understand the work. He can give a sermon, but does not know how to lead and equip the church in evangelism and spiritual growth. A topical sermon once a week is not going to do that. 
      2. The last two churches Teresa and I visited were clearly floundering. The goal of the church was to just to have a worship service and have someone preach a sermon. The sermons were “okay” but were not with purpose or direction to equip the church for the goal of Ephesians 4. 
      3. Two problems typically exist:
         1. Visitors will never come back for that kind of preaching, nor will members do any inviting.
         2. Evangelism is simply not on the radar. In fact, the only “evangelism” done is “church-building evangelism”—if the lost want to be saved, they know where we are! 
   5. It may surprise you, but the most important part of a good preacher training program is the amount of time the one being trained spends with the preacher! (Many preachers do not do this because it is so time-consuming)
      1. When we see training in the NT, it is on the job; it is a mentorship. When I train, the man goes with me to all studies so he can see and learn.
      2. He is with me in the “office next door” so that I’m available to him every time he has a question. Many hours are spent with me preparing him with my years of experience so that he is ready to face the work by himself. 
      3. [Recent young man was told he was “ready” after preaching a few sermons]. I know what it is like to start preaching without a mentor who can give me his experience. (1) Years of trial and error and bad mistakes. (2) Unimaginable stress. (3) A church that has to deal with my inexperience.
   6. The above also brings up the importance of a good church who is patient with an evangelist (young, but also the older!). Doctors speak of their work as a “practice,” and so it is with a preacher, there is always growth and learning that must continue.
2. What a Church (and Preacher) Need to Know about Preaching (Seven General Abilities and Traits Needed to Preach)
   1. A passion and ability to study the scriptures—“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).  
   2. A willingness and ability to teach the word both to Christians and to the lost—“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control…what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also…do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 1:6-7; 2:2; 4:5). An evangelist should always be looking for an opportunity. This is not about just teaching at the building.
   3. A passion and skill to preach—“…devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching…Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:2). There are two extremes: (1) “I just like to preach,” and (2) “I would prefer to just teach the lost.”
   4. Disciplined work habits—“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress” (1 Timothy 4:14-15).
   5. A person who loves people, is good with people; friendly, loving, and caring—“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness…” (2 Timothy 2:24-25). True also of shepherds! Some preachers are loners. Some spend too much time with members, they do not study enough.
   6. A person who has an exemplary lifestyle—“an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity…Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:12, 16). You are a Christian first, then a Christian who preaches. 
   7. A person who is able to handle the pressure and stress of the job—“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).
3. Preacher Challenges a Church Needs to Know
   1. Every preacher will occasionally fall into a “rut” that he is not aware of, whether in sermon delivery or sermon topics. Examples:
      1. Filler words: um, uh, like, “right” (at the end of a sentence), just, etc. 
      2. Length of sermon (which is usually just trying to cover more material that can be comfortably assimilated for the time period given). Over-estimating the audience given the “brief” setting of our worship. An FC lecture is 50 minutes given to people who are expecting it. Further, there is not an 90 minute worship lead up to the lecture.
      3. Wanting to tell you everything we have studied and thus, adding points into a sermon, that though interesting, are not necessary to the message of the sermon, and therefore detract from the message. Especially in this regard, a sermon must be different than a Bible class. More details can be given in a class setting than in a sermon.
      4. The above is where members can come to the rescue! “Did you realize that you have been doing “thus and so” in your preaching? 
      5. The challenge of preaching to the new Christian and the mature Christian. 
   2. Preparing a sermon is not like “making a widget” or baking an apple pie for the one hundredth time. Each week starts from scratch. Each week is a brand new creative challenge.
      1. There is no doubt sermons would be better and possibly avoid some pitfalls if we could spend 40 hours to prepare a sermon instead of 15. But that would neglect teaching the lost and other parts of the work. 
      2. Many times members are amazed with how great a “meeting preacher” is with his sermons. And I completely agree. But I can tell you that if you go online and listen to this same preacher every week at his home church, it will be good, but usually not as great as the meeting sermons. Why? If he does a lot of meetings, he will have preached and refined the meeting sermons many times. That isn’t possible with the first time he preaches it at the home church.
   3. Question: Is it acceptable to have a preacher who does not in some way lead the church in and participate in sharing the gospel with the lost? To be sure, all preachers have different talents. Some of us are not very good at setting up Bible studies with the lost (we often do not have many opportunities). But, there is no excuse for not doing “your share” with the abilities you do have. 
      1. Paul tells Timothy, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed…Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” (1 Timothy 4:6, 12)
      2. I have known preachers to say, “I’m just not good at evangelism.” I’m sorry, you must be misunderstanding what God is requiring here:
         1. If you know enough about the Bible to preach a sermon, you surely known enough to teach Mark and Acts to someone who is lost. And you certainly should be working on your knowledge & skills of teaching and answering commonly asked questions. [my beginning was without any knowledge of how to reach the lost]
         2. You may feel inadequate in a conversation with a person you do not know well, but (1) you can practice just getting to know a person, and (2) you can rely on other Christians and their talents to bring you opportunities.
         3. It is one things to feel inadequate (Moses certainly did, as many of the prophets), but it is another to take on the role of an evangelist and decide not to do evangelism

Conclusion: I hope these lessons have helped you better understand the need of evangelists and the challenges of both churches and evangelists. All of us need to be a part of encouraging and promoting the preparation needed to produce evangelists an shepherds in a local church. It starts at a young age!

Berry Kercheville

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