The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower us to be witnesses. Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Somebody has be empowered to the Word of God to the . The Holy Spirit has to convict the sinner of their sins. John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 16:7-8 7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Salvation is purposed by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Romans 12:1-2 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Many people are ready to respond to the Gospel, they just don’t know how, therefore we must evangelize regularly. In the United States 17% of people attend church on a regular basis. 83% are not attending church regularly. 43% say they attend church once every 6 weeks. Our purpose is to know him and make Him known. We need to preach the Kingdom of God! We will never accidentally win someone to Jesus. Romans 8:28 all things work together for the good for those who are called according the power that works within us. Most of us want to determine who, when and how we share the . Lordship is coming under his complete control! Evangelism comes natural when you realize its Gods plan ! 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Luke 19:10 10 “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 1 John 3:8 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, (and has given us the ministry of reconciliation) 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, To reconcile is to reestablish a close relationship between. We must reconcile people back to God. Our primary calling as a follower of Christ is to fish for people! Mark 1:14-18 14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” 16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men. 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Mark 1:19-20 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. If we are not fishing we might not be following. Fishermen don't always catch fish, but fisherman always fish! We must be concerned about people far from God! Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise. We must be obedient if the Church is going to grow and impact this city with revival! II Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 3 Fears that Often Hold Us Back 1. The fear of failure. Often times fear of failure limits our future . 1 Corinthians 3:5-8 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. On average someone needs to hear the Gospel 7.6 times before they come to faith in Christ. Your evangelism could be moving someone closer to Christ. 2. The Fear of rejection. Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. When we share our faith they are not rejecting us, they are rejecting Jesus. He is asking, you’re just the mouth piece. 2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. An Ambassador is a diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another, usually for a specific length of time. We are God’s . Ephesians 6:19-20 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 3. Fear of ignorance. The fear that someone will ask something you can't answer. If you talk about Jesus long enough someone will ask you a question you cant answer here is what you say: “I'll get back to you!” 1 Peter 3:15 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; The Romans Road to salvation is a way of explaining the Good News of using verses from the Book of Romans. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:8 8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus Christ died for us! Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:13 says it again, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Fear is not a reason, it's an excuse! The Gospel is the greatest news we could ever tell; therefore we must evangelize confidently. What did you observe from today's sermon?