The Missing Ingredient in Modern Evangelism — Al Whittinghill

Prayer for Loved Ones and the Burden of Evangelism

What a great privilege is to be back with you here. And I was reflecting driving up this morning of all the different things over the years that we've just seen the Lord do together. I've prayed for you for many years and Been blessed to have so many people in here that I love and know.

So well, but I was thinking of that time several years ago and just before the year 2000 when my dad died. And I was on a Friday. I was supposed to speak here on Sunday. And I didn't have time to prepare a message.

But instead you see the Lord harvested from my daddy's deathbed 26 years of prayer for him. He was came to the Lord Jesus right before he died. Came out of a coma and came back up and trusted the Lord and it was real.

And I remember standing here that morning and telling you all that I didn't have a message prepared. But that a message had prepared me. Remember that brother and we talked about never give up for praying for your loved ones.

Maybe it's hard to keep praying and you maybe have gotten discouraged and I remember that morning when the altar flooded with people and we all were just Weeping before the Lord because we realized there were so many people that are in our immediate circles and loved ones and our families that are not where we know the Lord would have them to be with him and That's really what I want to do again today is bring a message about prayer but to In the light of the fact you've had a week course going on about evangelism.

I want to talk to you about the missing link in evangelism. Salvation is so much more than just going out and telling people about Jesus and then having them hear and understand it takes a miracle for them to believe and.

So I just want to pray with you and let me just say when I when I'm here. It's like coming home looking out at you and I'll try not to point my finger at anybody this morning. Because I really want to just talk to you and in a real sense reason with you and everything this morning is to get you To come back tonight.

I know we have competition tonight. I Didn't even watch it last night the final four and tonight, you know Light or not, but I hope you'll still come. Oh good. It's it's great. It's next week or whatever good.

Well, you can come back. Anyway, even if it was tonight I'm hoping that this morning's Message will make sense to you in such a way that you will see some things that will truly be life-changing. In regards to those people around you that you long to be saved and maybe it'll put some things together.

Let's pray together Father. I know this morning that as we sung earlier you are glorious. But we've only seen through a small window. That's a clouded window compared to your mystery and majesty how Unsearchable are your judgments and your ways past finding out we want to honor you here.

We thank you that you saw us first. You did the work in us before we ever realized we needed it. You brought us to yourself with a strong hand and we've tasted of your abundant and tender Mercies and they're everlasting to us and we praise you.

We pray that we will be stewards of the mysteries and the majesty of God. May our eyes truly see the king as we sang Glorious and may we see that your name is above every name and above all powers on this planet.

And we thank you for the assurance. That is ours of your coming again and of our eternal home as we've sung this morning and I pray that you'll give us that which is Necessary to see many souls come to know you in these days Ahead of us in Jesus name.

Amen. Well, there's certainly a battle going on in our day, I'm sure that you're aware of the rising tone of the battle. It's in the invisible We we see just the visible what's going on and so many things men's hearts failing them for looking at things coming to pass On the earth, but that's just the visible part.

There's a much greater and more malicious battle going on in the hearts and in the minds of men and in in women. And this morning I want to talk to you about the making use of What God has given to us as his great great Key for the missing element in evangelism, maybe this has been a curious matter to you.

Maybe you've never thought about it, but consider this we've had 50 plus years in America of the most expensive and organized Evangelistic outreaches and programs and activities more than anywhere else in history.

We've had it right here in America. We've got every possible way To reach out now not everyone's doing it, but we've spent a lot of energy and funds, but despite that fact North America is the only continent on the planet where Christianity is shrinking.

Did you know that? Now we may have growing churches, but a lot of the growth is transfer growth where we where we have a more Way to minister to people so they come for their children or they come because of the new music or we come for a lot Of reasons we've learned how to draw people in and but the church in North America is going through a great crisis and it's shrinking and Something's got to change and this morning.

I want to ask you have you ever wondered why the church overseas pretty much in all countries? Especially the hard working of hard Situations is exploding. Why is that? And there's a tremendous difference you see where is the The presence of God in the New Testament churches in the United States of America.

Prayer as the Missing Link in Evangelistic Power

Well We know that something's missing. I think we all know that in our churches today. And it's significant that in the New Testament as we read it all the significant moves of God Always followed prayer and this has always been in church history as well and the most Conspicuous thing about the church of the Lord Jesus in her finest hours.

If you look back is always its prayer. Jesus even said my father's house shall be called a house of prayer. But he says to the people in the next breath. But it had become a den of thieves Robbers of what God intended the church to be because we had let other things.

They had let other things take the place of the intention of God. But the greatest factor in history human history as well as church history without a doubt is prayer. But if you're like me, it's the battleground.

It's so hard. It's easier to do other things. We let prayer get crowded out, but you see in the New Testament I wish we had ten messages on prayer to cover these things, but but but you see the Priority of God on prayer you see Jesus speaking on prayer and demonstrating prayer.

He said that prayer would be the way that the church would do her greatest work even greater works. Then he did because they'd be all of us involved in this. Asking in his name and seeing the power of God the church history's gonna be written again in our day.

But the ink God will use will be believing prayer and this would be the great key for us. We must make prayer once again the preeminent thing in our churches. Or nothing else we do will be effectual or eternal in impact.

We may build a nice building and we may have a lot of people coming for a lot of mixture of reasons. But it won't be that supernatural glory and presence of God in a life that changes him at the very core of their being.

The early church was a spiritual army on her knees. They were drunk with the atmosphere from around the throne of God. That was the one thing that was the heartbeat in their fellowship every member every single one was a praying Member and the atmosphere that she breathed literally was prayer now.

We need to recover this in our day. But specifically I want to address this morning the battle for the souls of people that are around us the the souls of men and women. No church or no outreach or no evangelism will be greater in its eternal impact.

Then in its prayer it just won't it may influence people on a lot of levels. But the command to go into the world and take the gospel was preceded by the statement All power is given to me in heaven and on earth and because of this you go.

There's a linkage between God's power and the going in an evangelistic or a soul winning aspect. And that link is meant to be prayer. So I'm going to take you to I'm going to give you a lot of reference this morning.

I hope you'll write them down because I'm serious. This really might be new for some of you and for some of you that are really prone to be thinkers really serious thinkers this may Challenge you in some ways not that you don't think when you hear this.

But the Lord says be sanctified by the renewal of your mind not the removal. So I'm not against intellectualism. But I am saying that God wants us to see what his word says and then be willing to make adjustments by faith.

The Spiritual Bondage of the Lost

Do you realize what the Word of God really says about lost people? I mean sometimes we we hear it like a lost person's just out there. Waiting for us to make the gospel simple to them so they can just oh at last I've heard it or maybe if they could.

Just if we could out Persuade them with some clever tantalizing tidbit or Overarched their intellect with apologetics that are sterling and brilliant that they would quickly believe but it's not that simple.

Because there's a deeper problem than that. You see it's like going to the ocean and you see the waves coming in and you see the visible of what's happening and without realizing that there's a moment when the tide turns and it's because of heavenly forces the moon and the rotation of the earth and it affects Everything you see and that's what it's like for prayer when it comes to human souls and evangelism.

Here's what the Bible says if we're going to learn to pray for the lost. Here's what it says about the lost. Let me just give you a little list here of some of the things that are true. About every lost person that doesn't have a relationship with Christ.

That doesn't know the Lord through his word and have the Spirit of God living in them. Here is what is true whether it's the person in the gutter or whether it's the person Working in the White House.

I didn't say any names, but I'm just saying It's the same for all of them. The Word of God says it says first of all that they're prisoners whom Satan refuses to release and Isaiah 14 verse 17 It says that this the devil refuses to let his prisoners go.

So a lost man is a child of the devil the Lord Jesus himself said to people that weren't Christians. You're of your father the devil in the Gospel of John when he was talking to religious Pharisees who didn't know him.

It also says that that the lost person is helplessly held in Satan's grasp in first John 5 19. It says we know that the whole world lies in the evil one. But it really means in the grasp of and it's a picture there of a mother rocking a baby.

That's one of the pictures. It's like the enemy has people put to sleep and he's rocking them like this some of them and others. It's in the grasp that they're held in a firm hold. Listen to what it says in Mark 3 verse 27 that the lost person the person without Christ is a house In which the enemy has like a palace and on the inside there's Armor, that's put there.

It says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2 listen to these verses about a lost person. It says in the times past you walked according to the lifestyle of this world. According to the Prince of the power of the air.

According to him and it says the spirit that now works in the spirit again, excuse me in the children of disobedience you walked and you were Energized. The spirit that now works in the children of disobedience that word works means Energized you see there's the sense where every person who walks on this planet is being energized by a master and The scriptures say there's no neutrality.

You're either Mastered and under the sway by the grace of God of the Spirit of God same word for energized or you're energized by the thinking and the course of this age and Your heart is held captive by what's natural and visible and it says in the next verse by nature by nature.

We are children of wrath now I know this is hard when you hear this kind of stuff say well, that's not what I was like well the scriptures say. That's what every lost person is like the question is do I believe?

The scriptures is here's other words that it says about a lost man alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance of God that's in them their Understanding is darkened. There's a blindness of Heart you cannot as a lost person.

It says a lost person cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. Because they are foolishness unto him and he neither can he know them because they're spiritually discerned. So a lost man's without the Spirit of God and he's lost and alienated.

Without God without hope. The Bible says and Romans 5 10 says that before we're Christians We are actually in our nature enemies of God. Strangers ungodly and apart from him and we're blinded to the gospel.

We can't see listen to what it says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 when it says in verse 3. 2nd Corinthians 4 3 if our gospel is veiled or hidden. It's hidden to those who are lost in whom the God of this world has Blinded their minds of those who are not believing.

Otherwise the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. Who's the image of God would shine in. Unto them you see there's a blindness. There's a veil that's over the earth and over the minds and hearts of the lost and it is supernatural.

It's not intellectual only there is a ownership that the enemy says that he has and Slaves to the authority of this age and the devil is where the lost man lives. It says in that that God grants repentance.

But when does he grant repentance. Listen to what Timothy says in the first Timothy chapter? Excuse me 2nd Timothy chapter 2. It says if by chance God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive. By him to do his will. Every person Serves one of two masters. So the Bible says that's what Jesus said. But God who is rich in mercy even when we were in sin and far from God for his great love that he has he so loved the world that he Commended the Word of God toward us and when we heard the gospel and the light of the gospel shined into us.

We believed that we were saved but something had to happen before that. Do you know what it was? It was a miracle. It was where you were emancipated. Where you were enlightened by the Word of God by the by the freedom that Christ has purchased.

But how did that come to you? Did it just come without any direction? I'll tell you I believe that this morning you will see that someone somewhere prayed for you and In that prayer God was waiting. He he has so chosen that prayer would unbind the The people who are bound by the God of this world and would unblind them that they would be able to see.

Because they've been emancipated and enlightened and hear the gospel and then be free to really make that choice Of love but apart from that Before when we go out like we have in our country so often and we just we blanket the streets with tracks.

And we do all these things but we we don't deal with the power behind the blindness and the binding and. So it's like ricocheting off a rock a hard heart. Natural man not receiving the things of the Spirit of God.

The Reality and Defeat of Satan

So let me just give you a couple things to these points to remember in praying for the lost. You must realize this yours and my enemy is real. Do you believe that? Do you believe that you have an enemy?

It's becoming more apparent I think in our day than it's been but but this enemy he wants the the lost to remain lost. He wants that and he is a usurper. He is not just obeying God's Purposes and will he's left in the world but he wants to stop those people around us that don't know the Lord from seeing the gospel and hearing the truth then the devil has it says schemes and wiles and methods and and subtleties and Deceptions and Paul says if we don't know about these and 2nd Corinthians 2 11 the devil will have an advantage of us.

Now see I realized that some people never want to deal with the invisible. They do not want to deal with anything supernatural. They want to have it logical and explainable and I do too but you see logical and explainable are not enough to break a man free from the Spiritual prison that he's lost in if he's a lost man.

So our Lord Jesus spoke of this turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 11. And I just want you to see something if you have your Bible in Luke chapter 11. Our Lord Jesus explained this when he dealt with the enemy and he talked about a human being a house and he talked about Back in chapter 10 of Luke he had said to them when they came back from going out and preaching.

They were rejoicing that even the the spirits were subject to them in his name. And he says don't rejoice because spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Oh, that's the real reason you're the child of God.

He's saying to them, but when you come to chapter 11 chapter 1 verse 1 they say teach us to pray and in the answer as he says keep on asking and Seeking and knocking and the father will give this Holy Spirit of persistence and faith and vision to you.

Then he demonstrates it as he goes out and he says he that's not with me is against me. Look at verse 20 after he cast out an evil spirit out of a man in verse 20. But if I with the finger of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you and then he says When a strong man Fully armed keeps his palace.

His goods are kept in peace. What's he talking about? Who's the strong man? It's Satan and when he's fully armed Which means his defenses are all up and all his tactics are in place. He keeps his goods in peace.

There's no war going on but verse 22 when a stronger than he shall come upon him. Who's that? That's Jesus speaking about himself and you'll see he also gives this strength. Greater is he that's within us the Lord Jesus that he that's in the world and I'm strong in the power of his name and the people that do know God shall be strong and do exploits so when a stronger than he comes upon him and Overcomes him he takes from him this weaker one all his armor Which he was trusting in and divides his spoils and the one you see Jesus says in 23 That is not with me in this Ends up being against me and he that is not gathering with me ends up scattering now that People might say is an isolated scripture.

But do you realize it's repeated also in Matthew 12 verse 28 to 30 and in Mark chapter 3 verse 27 In three Gospels this this is recorded with some elaboration in each one of those giving depth to say how can a man take a house like this unless a Stronger than he first comes and binds that enemy mark 3 327 and takes from him the armor and then he'll spoil him and How do we do this?

I mean, how are you going to walk inside of a of a palace of the enemy and take over? What is his you see we've got to learn how to bind and spoil his palace. There's a lot of palaces that he lives in all around us and you may have them at all degrees of darkness.

But the second thing I want you to remember is not only is the devil real and he wants lost people to remain lost. He is defeated. He is defeated. It's a done deal and it's not just a semi defeat. It's an utter defeat as it says in 1st John chapter 3 verse 8.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil and Listen to what it says in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14. I don't know if I'm Probably violating a rule giving you so much scripture, but I'm just getting cranked up.

I want you to write these down. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood the Lord Jesus himself also took part of the same. That through his death look at this. He might destroy and it's a very strong word make inoperational that he would destroy him that had the power of death that is the devil and Deliver them who fear of death were all their lifetime in bondage held in captivity.

You see Jesus by his death Frees from the fear of death and decrease and and all the things that hold people in this deception and bondage. Here's what he did Colossians chapter 2 verse 14 and 15. Here's he came upon the enemy at Calvary and here's what it says.

He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that were against us Contrary to us and he took those out of the way nailing this certificate of debt to his cross. Having spoiled and this is a word that means like a man Jamming his hand down the down the throat of an animal and grabbing him on the inside like they go catfish.

You know reaching in for catfish. But they jam it down a animal's mouth and turn him wrong side out like this and hold him up inverted upside down. That's what it says the Lord Jesus spoiled Principalities and powers and he made a show of them openly Triumphing over them in it.

It's the picture of a Roman general returning to Rome this word picture with his Captives chained to his chariot. That's what Jesus did. He utterly and totally Defeated the devil and so now any power that the devil Seems to be exerting around us you see or Exercising is either because number one we fail to apprehend What an appropriate what he's done or number two is because we have tolerated in our life.

What he says must be taken care of a way of sin. Only those things a foothold for the enemy and ignorance can allow the enemy to stay in power around us. So the enemy is real. He holds people in slavery Lost unable to hear and he wants to keep them that way.

But number two, he's been totally defeated and The victory of the Lord Jesus is complete and he loves these lost people. He it says that listen to what it says as it talks about us praying for lost people.

Intercession for the Salvation of All People

Listen to what first Timothy chapter 2 says. I exhort therefore that first of all Supplication and prayers and intercession and the giving of thanks be made for all Men, and he gives a list of Kings and all that are in authority and he says verse 3.

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who will have all men To be saved come to a knowledge of the truth. There's one God one mediator between God and man the the the man Christ Jesus Who gave himself a ransom to purchase us back to pay the price of a kidnapping you might say.

And he will be testified as this in due time. The third thing is we're called to deal with the enemy. We are called to deal with the enemy to see God wants men and women around you to be saved. In fact, it says in 2nd Peter chapter 3 verse 9.

The Lord is not slack Concerning his promise as some people count slackness, but he is long suffering toward us. He is not Buddha may designing not willing that any should perish. But that all should come to repentance.

I kept wondering why y 'all looking up there. You're pretty good back there putting up the scriptures. I don't know how you're doing that like that. That's really good. You're probably saying oh he is a different version but The truth is getting out in there.

It's getting out in there. We're called to deal with the enemy now how little this is realized by us Leaves us with a great loss. Because we think that we can go out and go to people and just speak to them words about the Lord Jesus and that they quickly Will believe if we're if we're just apprehensive or apprehending enough or simple enough, but we don't realize they're in chains and they're darkened and they're blinded and they're bound and so as members of our risen Lord.

Seated with him. It says three times in Ephesians 2 6 seated with him in the heavenlies. We are his church. We are his bride and here's his choice. He's training his church. He's training his bride in the purposes and the things of of Eternity and he's entrusted to us his authority.

He's given us authority. It's what it says that this is not a normal thing for us. We don't think like this. You see Paul writes to the Ephesians and he says I'm I'm praying that God will enlighten your eyes and open your hearts in the full understanding wisdom and knowledge of God.

That you would know what is the assurance of him being called as a high priest? And what is the riches that he has living in you? And the third thing he says and that you would know what is the exceeding greatness of his dunamis his dynamite power toward us who believe according to the Working there's that same word.

We're energizing of his mighty power, but it says see it's toward us who believe. It's resurrection power in the church in his body the head controlling the action of what the body does and doing the same thing so that we Are stewards of the mysteries of God?

We are ambassadors. We have the word of the king and we come with all authority. Because he has it all and he says you go because of this I'm sending you forth. What looks like lambs among wolves, but fear not because I'm with you.

We have the word of the king this Authority which God wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places. Far above all principality and power and might and dominion in every name.

Named not only in this age, but also which is to come and he's put everything under the feet of his body. That's us. Everything is under his all-conquering feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

Which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all so you see he wants his church. Like like the Lord Jesus, we're his bride. He wants us to yield to him so that these two in an intimate relationship.

He can give the word the seed and we then in prayer prevail and we bring forth life. It's an amazing picture so as members of his body. United to him by blood and breath and heart and mind in covenant with him.

We participate in The manifestation of his victory. We have the privilege raised with him to have his authority and which enforce his will in prayer. This is the thing that we're not doing as a church across our country.

We are not seeking to enforce his will in prayer. We don't know what it means. Thy will be done on earth as it is being done in heaven make your name holy in our midst. Let your kingdom come like the Lord Jesus talked about let your will be done all around us so we're in the conflict and Every day we look around and we see what looks like just difficult problems and without prayer.

We might go out and try to solve those problems and we might do a lot to help people. We might give them all kinds of food and that's a good thing. I'm not against any of this but just because we give them food just because we help them in a difficult situation.

And comfort them. That's not enough to free them from prison. Something's got to come first. It's the missing link in evangelism. It makes all the good works catch on fire. It absolutely does everything that is awesome.

You see it says in Ephesians 610 finally my brothers be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armor of God. So you can be able to stand against the wiles of the methods the drag downs of the devil because we wrestle not.

In this five times it says against against against we wrestle against not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness and so God gives us weaponry that we are to Armor that we're to put on there's nothing there.

That's offensive except for the seventh piece and it's mysterious and it's in verse 18 praying always with all prayer and Supplication in the spirit. Watching thereto being sleepless thereto. It means with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

There's five all's in that one five against and five all's. Oh the Lord wants us to understand that our battle that we're in is not just an intellectual not just an Apologetic not just a lack providing needs.

There's something first That's needed to give that meaning and power or it will be just more of the same. Where people want to be helped and will help them on a certain level. But we won't be able to really hold them to the heart of God.

I want you to look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 and I want you to see verse 3. We go to work. We come home. We go out and we meet people by the thousands over every year. But we've got to use spiritual weapons.

Not just our fleshly ones to reach the lost and here it says verse 3 2nd Corinthians 10. Though we walk in the flesh. We do not make war after the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly or carnal.

But they're mighty through God. They're not because of us mighty they're mighty through him to the pulling down of strongholds. What's a stronghold? It's what the enemy's been hiding behind. When you go to Germany or some European country, you see old abandoned castles the stronghold still there the enemy's gone.

You have to take them down brick by brick even after the enemy goes and so but here you see. There's a stronghold in a person and here's what happens. God says verse 5 casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and It'll bring into captivity every thought.

To the obedience of Christ and people stop there and they don't read verse 6, which is the key to it all. If our weapons are mighty through God and he does this then when does he do it? It says verse 6 God has a readiness and it's not talk about us being ready to do it.

The Greek word implies God is having a readiness to revenge all this disobedience. And all the unbelief around us when your obedience is fulfilled. Well, what are we supposed to obey? I believe so clearly God is calling us to intercede and to stand in the gap and to be that bridge a Holy priesthood to stand between God and man and to come to a lost man and don't just preach the word to him.

But bring that lost man in before God like a priest and you pray for them and you emancipate and you ask the Lord to send light you see because they're living with a darkness and a Blindness with a veil over them and what they need is the glorious gospel to shine in like God says let there be light.

It's a regenesis. It's quoting back to Genesis in chapter 1 Let there be light and so it comes and Steve is Regenesis he's regenerated the life of God comes to his heart and he he is able to believe on the Lord Jesus in that infinite precious moment when we dare to stand so we've got to use spiritual weapons.

The only weapons the early church had were the Word of God and that never changes and The Spirit of God who is faithful to be himself always and third was prayer. That's the only variable. It's the only variable and you see I'm just telling you the devil has suffered so much from these weapons That he's attacked the Word of God.

He's doing it today on every side and getting people to change it or add to or take from he's attacking the Spirit of God through producing all kinds of Extremes that aren't in the character of God. So people just say I don't want anything to do with that.

And he's he's attacking prayer through all kinds of divisions in the church and zillions of activities That compete for the attention and heart of the church in this matter. I'm not against activities and being smart and doing things that are public service.

But if we do that without prayer it will not produce anything really eternal or lasting on any real Level you see it is with all prayer and supplication being sleepless thereto and standing before God.

Personal Testimony of Emancipation Through Prayer

Emancipation and enlightenment must happen before a Person can believe. Do you realize that. Otherwise they can sit in church for years and you'll never really hear it. You know, I think back to when I was at Carolina back to my fraternity days.