(Om Orientation) New Testament Strategy - Part 2 — George Verwer

Local-Church Evangelism and Personal Work

It isn't just to go through an area and give out a lot of tracts, it has never been that. It isn't just to go down and sell books from house to house, but it's to do this kind of work, and personal work, and many other kinds of work, together with local churches, to strengthen them, to challenge them, to train them if possible, so that they can continue as a local group evangelizing for Christ.

And I could give you hundreds of illustrations of how churches have caught the vision to evangelize through local teams, coming and spending some time with them, and setting the pace, so to speak. This is God's strategy.

This is why also, during the year program, we like to remain in an area for a longer time, oftentimes a year or more, just as they remained in Antioch that long, so that we can teach the believers, and work with the believers, and do a work of depth.

The Need for Men Who Will Do the Work

Some people say, well these summer crusades are very superficial, we don't stay, we don't do follow-up, there's only one reason, and that's those who are listening to this tape. It's not that we don't want to do that, it's not that we don't want more in the year program, it's not that we don't want to be able to help the churches more, and follow-up more, but it's that we need men.

And this is our great heart cry as this tape goes out, that hearts will be spoken to about the total plan of God, for total evangelism, and total follow-up. But it takes men. And anyone can sit back and be a theorist, and we have many theorists today, who have the answer and know what must be done.

But where are the men to go out and do it? This is always the question. It doesn't take an intelligent man to see what's wrong with the church. It doesn't take an intelligent man to get up in the pulpit and say, this is wrong, this is wrong, we're cold, we're lukewarm, da-da-da-da.

But where are the men who are going to move in, and take this thing by the hand in prayer, and believe God to overcome it, and work by the grace and the power of God to overcome it. Let us quickly move on to Acts chapter 12.

Prayer as the Foundation of God's Strategy

Acts chapter 12 and verse 5. Here we see Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Prison seemed to be a part of the strategy in that day, didn't it?

And in some lands it will be part of the strategy in our day. But I want to just insert here again the most important thing concerning God's strategy, it's prayer. You see, Peter was in prison, but, but, notice that word in verse 5, but prayer was made without ceasing.

Communist countries are difficult, but Muslims are hard to win, but the great but of God, but prayer. And all the strategy in the world will do nothing unless it's saturated with prayer. Oh, might some of us re-listen to the tape on prayer, and realize this is it.

How is your prayer life? How are your group prayer meetings? Are you depending on your feelings? Are you trusting in emotions? Maybe the emotional level of your meeting isn't very high, and so you're not accomplishing anything.

Look, it's not by emotion. It's not by what you can work up. It's by faith. Oh, might God grip us, and cause us to pray the prayers of faith. For all that lies ahead of us, whatever your task be, whether it be local evangelism in your own community, as important as that is, whether it be a coming campaign in Mexico, or whether it be a campaign on the continent, or in India, might you realize God's strategy is prayer.

And I don't want to say anything. I don't even want to continue, unless I'm going to be able to instill within you this great truth so talked about, and so little practiced. Turn on now to Acts chapter 17.

Paul's Public Ministry in the Marketplace

We're going to have to skip a few chapters as time is passing. But if you look in those other chapters, you'll see God's strategy, and all that's involved in it. Here in Acts 17, verse 17, we read these words.

Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Here we see the great Apostle Paul, with all of his brilliance, with all of his theology, with all of his administrative tasks.

Where do we see him? Down in the marketplaces. And the moment any man of God, I don't care who he is, I don't care what his reputation is, the minute he's too high and too busy to get down to the marketplaces, to get down to the streets, to get down to the homes, he's too busy, and he's moving away from the strategy that God has given us in his Holy Word.

Public and House-to-House Ministry

Now turn on quickly to Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20. And we read in verse 19, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying and weight of the Jews.

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but I've showed you and I've taught you publicly, and from house to house. There it is again. From house to house, publicly and from house to house.

Dale always says this is 2020 vision. Acts 20 .20. The public ministry and the private house to house ministry. Both are necessary. Both are good. And as we go down into Mexico and into Europe and into India, we want to have the public ministry.

We want to have the open air meetings. We want to have the evangelistic rallies. Praise God for all these methods. But at the same time, we want that house to house work. That private work. That man to man work.

Personal Evangelism and the New Testament Strategy

A lot of our strategy in terms of evangelism is represented in our new manual on personal evangelism by Harrison. And I want you to study that manual on personal evangelism. And there you'll see methods of personal evangelism, which is a vital part of our strategy and a vital part of the New Testament strategy.

So it must be a vital part of our strategy. That book is far more important than the literature evangelism manual. We'll get to that in a minute. But our burden is to see personal workers. Our burden is to see soul winners, not booksellers.

And oh, might God grip us with that. And might he teach us that we might engage in this public and in this house to house ministry. And might we engage in it with the same kind of love and discipline that Paul had that we see in verse 31, the verse that is so hard to explain.

And we can look around today.