Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

We’ve talked about the wisdom of going out in groups of three. But let me tell you a story. It begins with the Holy Spirit prompting this man, let’s call him Bill, to visit his neighbor, Eric. Eric opens the door and Bill invites Eric to an upcoming event at his church. They begin to talk and the Holy Spirit gives Bill an opportunity to share the gospel. Bill shares that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and that the wages of sin is death, but that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Eric, being prepared ahead of time by the Holy Spirit, softens his heart and accepts the gospel, and prays to with Bill, accepting God’s free gift of salvation. Bill and Eric shake hands, agree to meet later to talk more about this decision. Now, how many people were active in that story?

In most of our discussions about evangelism, we’ve focused on what we can do. But conversion truly is God’s work, not our own. The Holy Spirit not only is present when we witness to others, He is the primary worker. How is the Holy Spirit active in evangelism?

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. How can I, he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.” (Act 8:26-40 NIV)

The Holy Spirit is active in the witness of the gospel. The witness must be guided by the Spirit (v. 29). The witness must speak as the Spirit leads him (v. 35). The witness must leave the results to God (v. 39-40). The Holy Spirit in the believer is kind of like one of these energy saver floodlights. This casing doesn’t produce the light, but the bulb inside does. Or you might compare the Holy Spirit to the water being held back by a dam. The dam doesn’t produce the power, the water does.

The Holy Spirit is also active in the recipient of the gospel. The recipient of the gospel has a heart prepared by the Spirit (v. 27-28). The recipient of the gospel is eager to accept and live the gospel (36-38). The recipient of the gospel rejoices in the Spirit (v. 39).

But, as we all know, not everyone accepts the gospel. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit is also working on those who reject Christ. Billy Graham once played golf with a bunch of pros. After they were finished, and Billy Graham had left, one of the pros stated that he was tired of Billy Graham shoving religion down his throat. Another pro commented that Billy Graham had not brought up spiritually even once.

The Spirit of God hardens the hearts of those who harden their hearts. Why would God do this? Doesn’t He want them to come to repentance? I think there is a very simple answer to this. God doesn’t harden those who do not wish to be hardened. Think of it like a gummy bear. It may sit and harden, but only because we failed to eat it. We can’t blame God for that.

Though we can’t see Him, the Holy Spirit is working in us and in the lives of those we seek to reach with the gospel. Realizing this will empower us to be more bold in our witness.