Evangelize Like Jesus, Part Two

‘“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”’ (John 4:34-38, NIV)

Is evangelism a long-game or a spontaneous thing? 

Lots of people will say it’s a long-game. You build a relationship and slowly share Christ as a trust is built with that family member, friend, or coworker. You intercede for that person. You love them and ask that God would draw them near to Him, making it possible for them to one day believe and follow the Lord.

Yes, sometimes it works like that, but sometimes, I think we prefer to see it that way because we’re afraid to just walk up to someone and fall into a conversation about Jesus. We’d rather slowly work Christ in and wait because we’re wary of the rejection that might find us if we spring the conversation too quickly.

We wait for the harvest, so to speak. We lead ourselves to believe that we need to wait for some ethereal moment in time that will somehow be supernaturally revealed to us. The fact is, evangelism isn’t about conversion. It’s not about praying a prayer or a confession of faith. It’s simply sharing the gospel with someone who needs it. It may take a person hearing the gospel a hundred times before they follow Jesus. And if God wants that person to believe, they will.

With that pressure off, why not just see anyone at all as “ripe for the harvest?” 

In John 4, after the woman at the well runs off to tell her town about Jesus, the disciples approach Jesus and urge him to eat some food that they brought back for Him. Jesus, fresh off the conversation with the Samaritan woman, says He is already satisfied, being filled off doing the will of the Lord. He likens the disciples’ approach to evangelism the way a farmer waits for the harvest, counting down the days until the season comes where his crop is ready to gather. 

But Jesus urges the disciples to open their eyes and look! The souls they are waiting to harvest are already ripe! They are ever-ready to hear about the good news of the Lord. If someone “harvests” a soul to eternal life, those who evangelized that person before– pushing them ever closer to that moment of salvation– can also rejoice. Of course, we won’t know exactly the success of the work until we stand before the Lord, but the not knowing should not deter us from working in it at all.

So while we do share Christ with those we know and pray to win them to Christ over time, that does not replace the need to open our eyes. It doesn’t negate the fact that there are still people that we interact with in our daily lives– at the gas station, at the store, in line at the DMV– that need Christ and at the very least would love for you to pray with them about whatever they’re going through.

We very much live in a day and age where people stay in their lane. We use our phones as a barrier between us and people around us. Twenty years ago, none of us had that. We were more likely to strike up conversations while we waited in line or at the very least were more aware of the people living alongside us. 

We need to stop waiting for a future harvest. We need to stop waiting for a revival or a cultural event that drives people back to the doors of our churches. 

We just need to pray and ask God to show us those that are ripe for harvest today. We need to look around and speak up when we see someone that looks like they need someone. Think outside of the box. Buy a shirt that says “Need prayer? Ask me!” on the back. Whatever you need to do, do something.

You don’t need to be the one that walks that person across the proverbial finish line. Just be willing to share Jesus with them, encourage them, and pray with them. The more you do it, the more you will feel more comfortable.

It’s not about making a believer. It’s about doing the will of God; letting that alone sustain you. That means we need to be in constant prayer, asking God to show us people that He is drawing to Himself– asking Him to create opportunities to share Christ to the glory of God. It means we need to know enough of our Bible to clearly and effectively defend and present the Gospel. 

Don’t be afraid, friends. There are people that God is making ready to hear His Word. He’s drawing them to Himself. He is doing the work, you just need to be a ready and willing tool in God’s plan to draw them.