Militant Evangelism! (10 page)

The enemy knows the signs of revival. He has seen them in past
centuries,
therefore he will do all in his power to clothe the Church with a shroud of apathy to blind them as to what can happen when the Church is on fire.

When Job found himself covered in sore boils, he had two "comforters" feed him nothing but lies. In the background waited
Elihu
.
As he listened he said, "For I am full of the matter; the Spirit within me constrains me. Behold, my belly is like wine which has no vent. It is ready to burst, like new wine skins!"

When we look at the lies being fed to the Job of this world, as it sits in despair, covered in sore bods, from the crown of its head to the sole of its foot, do we have
Elihu's
declaration? Is there a holy anger building within you and me as the father of lies deceives this sick world? Can we say, "For I am full of the matter"? Does the Spirit of Truth live in you; are you not filled with Him to a point where you cry, "The Spirit within me constrains me, pushes me on; the love of Christ burns within me! Behold my spirit is like wine which has no vent; it is ready to burst like new wine skins"? We cannot hold our peace! God has said, "You are my battle axe and weapons of war ... Make bright the arrows, gather the shields ... set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes ... attack, attack!"

If you are a sleeping saint,
satan
will gladly rock your cradle. Oh for a strong sounding trumpet blast in the ear of those who would sleep, "Awake, awake, put on strength, O Zion ..." If we sleep on our own domain, it won't be long before we are asleep on enemy territory.

We haven't moved
,
it's just that the ground we are on has become occupied! Some of our churches are so dead, the only thing keeping many awake is the sound of snoring.
Would to God that more church buildings would be struck by lightning, as in England in 1984.

Soldier, what are you doing for the Kingdom of God? Are you waiting for a "word from God?" Then here it is—"Go" (Mark 16:15). What are you waiting for? Go somewhere, do something, say something to somebody somewhere, somehow. One day you will be dead, and then it will be too late. While you can think,
speak,
move your hands and feet, do something for God. Are you content to sit in the barracks while the battle rages? Form a team. Get yourself a bus, write to the papers, drop tracts everywhere,
speak
for your God. Do something before the dust of apathy covers you. There is no neutral ground—you are either garnering or you are scattering for the Kingdom of God. We have been given our battle orders through the Word of God! He who reads them cannot but hear the "sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war." As a 12 year old Christian, I figured out that I had sat under the sound of 1,800 sermons! That was about three a week. Work out how many sermons you have listened to, and then ask how many should you take in before you give out. How much training do we need? Many have become so fat in God they have rocked themselves to sleep trying to get out of the pews.

We must run to the battle, sow seed in tears, for we have God's promise that we will doubtless reap in joy. Our aim is not to kill, but to make alive. Men have rushed into battle merely to obtain dirt.

They gave their lives to get back a hill in Vietnam, Korea or Israel, a hill which may be returned to the enemy through peace negotiations twenty years later. Their costly efforts were
futile,
our
labor
is not in vain. We have a wonderful mandate.

We have to shake off the fear of man. I often feel a flush of heat come to my face as I step into enemy territory to give out tracts or to preach. I don't find it easy, but the Bible says that, "the righteous are as bold as a lion:" I am righteous in
Christ,
therefore I am as bold as a lion!

Sowing and Reeking Ministry

Think of the fate of those the enemy has "taken captive by him to do his will." Soldier of Christ, while many of our brothers and sisters are content with "youth night," take a team and do a bar drop. Fill pits of darkness with the light of the Gospel. I find that I can put literature in a bar and be out the door in about two minutes . . . in one door, out the other before they know what's going on. Many a hero has been gripped by fear as he blasted the enemy.

If a hero wasn't fearful, then he's not a hero. Courage is to triumph over fear, not to be free of it. When I drop literature in a bar, half of me
hates
being there in the smoke, the smell of booze and the foul language, and the other half cries with compassion. Don't take any weak or soldiers who couldn't handle it. Those in this category can stay and intercede on your behalf.

We can so easily lose sight of the fact that we are called to be fishers of men. I once ministered at a meeting where the pastor had broken free from tradition. He decided to have his meeting outside at the local botanical gardens, reminding us that the church is not the building, but the people. As the meeting began, I noticed two, obvious non-Christians, watching intently. I approached them and found out that one of them was a fisherman. We spoke about his work for a while,
then
he asked about the meeting. He wasn't at all interested and both of them began to walk away. I called after them, "Hey, I'm a fisherman too." At that, they immediately swung around and came back. They said, "And all the time we were going on about fishing, and you're an expert!" I said, "Yep ... I've been fishing for over 12 years (and I've just got me a fish)." I was able to share with them that they pull fish to their death, but we pull men to life.

A short time after that incident, our family was on a train for six hours, traveling through our native country of New Zealand. I felt that this was a good opportunity to spread some literature around the train.

I waited for about three hours until I felt that the literature would provide a relief from boredom. As the guard walked past into the last carriage to take the tickets, I took courage, and got up from the seat with a pile of our papers in hand to cover the forward carriages.

However, the last carriage proved to be empty and the guard came back about five seconds after I got up. I quickly sat back down on another seat, with a pile of papers in hand and gazed out the window.

After he went, I handed out dozens of papers. As I sat down I wondered why I felt so nervous in the first place. People were glad of something to read. On our return trip, I was determined to do the same thing. We were in a carriage with about 40 American tourists, so I waited until I felt the time was right, ignored the hot flush and gave out the papers. Almost everyone took them. One lady was a Christian and came and sat with us for a time. I could hear the people talking about the paper. About an hour later, the Christian lady who had sat with us, returned to her seat, took out a mouth organ, and played, "How Great Thou Art." Then the train stopped for no apparent reason. A woman down the back gently began to sing, "It's no secret what God can do ... what He's done for others, He will do for you . .
. "
 It was so anointed, I am sure hearts were touched. God only knows what a work was done for eternity with that simple act of giving out Christian literature.

In the eighties, I would often go frog and tadpole hunting with my children. On one occasion, I had made a dragnet which I would throw into the pond, being careful to avoid weed which sat in the
center
. A normal haul was five or six tadpoles and perhaps a small frog or two. After some time, I accidentally threw the net right onto a large piece of weed and pulled it to the shore. I was a little dismayed that this was going to be a rather messy haul, but to our delight, that one haul netted 86 tadpoles! I had been avoiding the place they had been frequenting! Most evangelicals stay clear of bars and other weedy places, yet that is where the fish gather. Throw your net into the dregs of humanity and you will gloat at the results. Sinners flock to bars, not church buildings. We have as much chance of getting sinners to visit church buildings, as we have of criminals visiting a police station. If we were policemen and business was down, we could chrome-plate the bars, put in carpet and air conditioning, with a notice out the front of our jail saying, "Tonight—7.00 p.m.—all welcome," but still very few criminals would visit the police station. If business is down we have to apprehend law-breakers, and the same applies to evangelism. Our light shines most in the dark places.

I was recently sitting in a plane when a woman sat next to me. She turned out to be a bar-owner from England. We spoke of natural things, then spiritual. I prayed that God would prepare the heart of the person who would sit by me, and He certainly did. The woman listened with both ears. I took her through the Commandments one by one, explaining our true state before God, as reflected in the mirror of His Law. Then I asked if she saw herself as a sinner in the sight of God. Her words were, "I do feel bad, after talking to you." Then we went through the cross and I had the joy of praying with her. I am convinced that she was soundly converted because there were no lights dimmed, no organ-playing, no twisting of the emotions; just a poor sinner asking God for mercy 32,000 feet above the ground. As we came in to land she said, "It is so ironic. I have had to travel 12,000 miles to be shown the right way.
I feel a different person since we left the ground."
I hope she never comes down. Brethren, there is no greater joy than to have God save someone through you. We've been bought with such a
price,
let's spend Ourselves for Him who bought us. When it comes to doing something for the Kingdom of God,
some people stop at nothing!

I guess one of the hardest types of evangelism is "door to door." I feel conscious that the cults have so imposed on people's privacy, they have stolen our thunder. I had this thought in mind once when a woman opened her door to me. I said, in a sincere tone, "Hello, I'm not a Jehovah's Witness," and she said,
"Well I am!"
Despite the knock-backs, door-knocking is very rewarding. There will be the usual, "We've got our own religion, thank-you," the occasional door slam, and the faith-testing dog, but you will make valuable contacts, meet some lonely old saints who need encouragement, place seed in hearts, literature in homes, and reap if you faint not. For too long, the soldiers have remained in the barracks. Organize a combat battalion and go into the fields. Why stay as Private Barracks, when you can be a Field Marshall! Promotion does not come from the east or the west, but from the Lord. If you prove fearless and faithful, you will be
honored
with promotion. Pull out the pin of self-will,
then
place yourself as an evangelical hand-grenade into the hand of God.
(For a survey for door to door evangelism, see the last pages
ofthis
publication).

CHAPTER SIX: KNOWING OUR BATTLE-ORDERS

"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:17).

I
n 1967, before my conversion, I worked in a bank. Each morning, it was my task to deliver checks from one bank to another. One day, I noticed a crowd of about 150 people packed around the entrance of a department store. The store was having a massive sale, and as a
drawcard
, they had some incredible bargains displayed in the window. One of the reduced items was a jacket, with a give-away price tag of only $2. As far as I was concerned that jacket was made for Comfort. I wanted it, but there was no way I could get it with so many people waiting at the entrance of the store.

After my deliveries, I made my way back to the store I waited until about 20 seconds before 9:00 a.m., stood at the back of the crowd and said with a loud' authoritative voice,
"Excuse me!"
People at the back looked around, saw my black briefcase, and concluded the obvious.
This was the man whose job it was to open the door and let everyone into the store.
It was in their interest to get me to the front of the crowd as quickly as possible.

As I said, "Excuse me ... stand back please, excuse me," they opened up like the Red Sea. The timing was perfect. When I approached the door, a gentleman on the other side turned a key, and suddenly, the dam of human bodies burst,
pushing me into the store and straight to the goal of my jacket, which I purchased for $2.