The Spirit Of Evangelism
There is evidence of a great awakening among God's people. Without fan-fare or publicity, without institutional machinery to divert our affections and to drain off our money, and without regard to place or circumstance, Christians are increasing the use of their great potential power for Christ. "They went everywhere preaching the Word" was not only true of ancient disciples, but many today are manifesting the very same spirit of evangelism.
Churches that were only sending fifty dollars per month to one preacher away from the home community five years ago, now spend hundreds of dollars per month and help supply the needs of several proclaimers of the Word in various fields. Some congregations that had hardly spent anything beyond their own community are now helping preach the Word both far away as well as at home. Christians who once manifested the attitude of "Me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four, no more", are now actively engaged in and contributing to soul-saving work here, there and everywhere.
Gospel preachers have begun, in recent years, to put more emphasis upon world evangelism. They have found four very fruitful ways of participating, each of which is very gratifying: (1) Preaching as often as possible. (2) Teaching from house-to-house a great deal. (3) Frequently including in their sermons to the church material that will stir up the fires of evangelistic fervor among the members, and (4) Willingly and eagerly involving themselves and their families in active efforts at world evangelism.
The Dissenters
But there still seems to be a few of God's people who cannot visualize harvests outside their own communities. They insist, "We cannot go everywhere with the gospel until we have first converted our own neighbors". They may say, "Why spend money to save souls in a distant place when many are lost nearby?" They may even argue the wisdom of spending the money nearby, since this is less costly than sending a man far away.
These people are victims of shortsightedness. They need to study the parable of the Sower (Mt. 13:
1-9, 18-23). All of us need to remember that God wants all souls to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). Let every intelligent reader remember: God desires the salvation of the most wretched heathen just as much as he desires the salvation of your own enlightened mother!
Furthermore, God has made us stewards of time, talent and other things that make for ability to do certain service to mankind. Then surely he expects us to be "good stewards" (1 Peter 4:10). He expects us to spend our time, talent and money as wisely as possible.
If a farmer has ten bushels of seed corn to plant, and if he is given a choice of three fields, surely he will consider carefully so as to plant where he will receive the greatest harvest. If a businessman has ten thousand dollars to invest, surely he will look about for the most fruitful enterprise rather than simply invest it next-door to his present establishment.
The Lord's people must seek to save souls nearby. They must certainly sow the good seed in the hard, difficult fields of the world, regardless of where they may be. And they must not fail to see and utilize the few remaining fields of great fruitfulness. God surely expects us to lift up our eyes and see the whole world and guide our lives, our energies and our money into the fields where many, many souls are actually hungering for the soul-saving Word.
Any reader who would like to improve his own perspective of the world's harvest fields should take a long look at Africa today. In regard to your prayers, your money and your personal activity, I invite you to write to me so that we can help you to catch a fuller glimpse of world evangelism and be filled more completely with the true spirit of evangelism.
-U. C. I. P. O. Box 4064, Ibadan, Nigeria