Evangelism

MATTHEW 10 : 5-15 NKJV

5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.

11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

MARK 6 : 7-12 NKJV

7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.

10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.

Jesus sent out His disciples with power to cast out demons and to heal the sick and with the message of repentance. Firstly the power to set people free, demonstrating the love and mercy of God, but also to qualify that the repentance message was from God. This is by the way only teaching His disciples to do the same as He was doing Himself.

MATHEW 4 : 17-25 NKJV

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples

18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

As you can see the true disciples of Jesus Christ were given the power of God and the message of repentance from God. Jesus trained His disciples for later on when he had left them and had given them the great commission. 

Matthew 28:18-20New King James Version (NKJV)

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

So how important was the message of repentance?

20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

The message of repentance is what it was all about!

LUKE 5 : 32 NKJV

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

MATHEW 26 : 28 NKJV

8 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The message of Christ's forgiveness of sin for all those who would Repent was clearly not only from Jesus Himself but also to be given through His disciples. It was why Jesus came to the earth and gave His life.

So, if you are a believer do you walk in the power of God to cast out demons and heal the sick and do you preach repentance and the forgiveness of sin in the name of Jesus Christ?

2 TIMOTHY 3 : 1-5 NKJV

 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

The Apostle Paul prophesies to Timothy of the last days church where the congregations will have a form of godliness but deny its power. These people will love themselves and their own pleasures more than they love God. These people have not received the repentance message for themselves so how could they be expected to walk in the power of God or to deliver the message of repentance? If you are not walking in the power of God or repentance, then it is pretty clear that you are one of these people. You do not have salvation, for where there is no repentance there is no salvation. What can you do about this? Call on the name of Jesus Christ to have mercy on you and bring you to repentance!