How can I shout?

This is one question frequently asked since the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. A question asked by everyone but only some would have the passion to really find out the answer. There are a lot of answers to this one question. But today I am going to share with you the basic of shouting (evangelism).

Evangelism is basically sharing the Good News. Sharing the Good News means to share the faith you have, to tell people about the hope that you have. And it all starts with one thing – it starts when you pray, “God, give me a passion for the lost.”

When you pray that simple prayer, which is more than enough reason for God to plant in you the seed of compassion for the lost. And once that seed is in you, God will water it as you continue to live in Him and cause the seed to grow into a big big tree. And once that tree is big and mature enough, people will start to come and taste the sweet fruits that your tree has. And that sweet fruit is non other than the hope you possess, the Gospel you read, the God you believe in.

Alexander McClaren said,
“You tell me the depth of a Christian’s compassion, and I will tell you the measure of his usefulness.”

In the book of Acts chapter 4 and 5 we see the account of Peter and the other apostles being put to jail because they were publicly sharing their faith. In Acts 4:7-21, the high priest Annas and Sadducees put Peter and John in jail because they didn’t like what Peter and John were doing. The next day, Peter and John were brought out for questioning and the persecutors ordered them not to preach again. Filled with the Holy Spirit (v8), Peter and John replied,

Acts 4:19“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen.”

After further threats, Peter and John were released because the persecutors had no valid reasons to put them in jail. And in Acts chapter 5:17-42 we see that Peter and the apostles were persecuted once more. This time it wasn’t only Peter and John but it included many other apostles, from this we could see that Peter and John’s fire had burnt and cause many others to follow what they were doing – evangelizing.
The persecutors captured the apostles and put them in jail. Overnight, an angel of the Lord came and rescued them. Upon their release, the angel told them to go into the temple courts and continue to share the Good News! Wow. Talking about getting out of a lion’s den and going into a bigger lion’s den! The apostles would have thought that God was joking. But no, they did as told.
The next day the persecutors couldn’t find them in jail and found out that they were preaching in the temple courts, they got furious and sent for them for questioning.

Acts 5:29
Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men!”

Peter threw them a question in Acts 4:19. But it was clear that the persecutors had not understood Peter’s question. And in Acts 5:29, Peter answered the question he threw at them in chapter 4.
At the end of chapter 5 we witness the daring act of Peter and the apostles right after their release from the persecutors:

Acts 5:42
Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

From this beginning, the result was the whole world turned upside down. The book of Acts records of the beginning stages of evangelism. It was because of Peter, John, Paul and the other faithful men and women of God’s compassion for the lost that we now know the Good News. They were the pioneers of evangelism. And all this started when they had the burden for the lost.

Paul had a great compassion and burden for the lost:
Romans 9:2-3
I have great sorrow and ceasing anguish in my heart.
For I wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.

Jesus, the Son of God, had compassion for the people:
Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Paul was one great mover and shaker of the early Christian church. He was once a Jesus-persecutor himself but later he was transformed into one of the greatest evangelist ever.
Jesus, the Son of God sent down from heaven to save the world, also had a great burden for the people. He cried out to the people saying how He wanted to gather all of them together under his arm but the people were unwilling.

We need to have a burden like Jesus, we need to echo the sentiment of Paul, and we need to have the compassion of Peter. These people changed the world with one little but powerful thing - the compassion and the burden for the lost.

So start crying out for that burden now. And with that truthful cry, God will do the impossible in you and through you.

Matthew 9:37-38
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore,
to send out workers into his harvest field.”

British pastor, C.H. Spurgeon,
“Winners of souls must first be weepers of souls.”