2D. The Ways of the Evangelist

Glancing through the Old Testament, one is sometimes shocked by the antics of the prophets. In just about every case the messengers seek only to deliver the message with great clarity and that is the prime reason for the unusual presentations. Let's look at a few of the prophets' ways which may be equally useful to today's evangelists in attracting an audience and driving home a message.

Drama

Jeremiah, the so-called "weeping prophet", acts out his message on one occasion, bearing on his shoulders an ox yoke. The will of the Lord, he was saying, was that the King of Judah should submit to and serve a foreign power as an ox would work in step with its partner (Jeremiah 27:1,2,12). Ezekiel too carried his edict home with dramatic actions. The Lord wanted him to tell the people that Jerusalem was going to be besieged. Ezekiel takes a brick, scratches lines on it to represent the city and then encompasses it, first lying on one side, then the other to represent a besieging army. He watches it intently, shaking his fist and prophesying against it. He shaves off his beard, burns part of it and foretells what will happen (Ezekiel 4:1-5,17).

John the Baptist (www.historycomesalive.ca)

In these and other ways drama can make the message more real. On one occasion I was involved in a prison mission in Lancashire. The most vivid event for me was the one evening service in the Chapel of Christ the Carpenter. The church was full (not surprising in a prison), and in came one of the team members, Captain Dennis Oxley, shattering the silence with "REPENT, REPENT" at the top of his very loud voice! Not only that but he also sprinkled everyone within hurling distance with a wet mop! The looks of astonishment turned into curiosity as the rest of the story of John the Baptist unfolded. Another popular medium for the message and one used extensively by Jesus is the parable.

Parables

Ezekiel tells a lovely story with a hidden meaning. "There was a giant eagle with beautiful feathers and huge wings spread wide. He flew to the Lebanon Mountains and broke off the top of a cedar tree, which he carried to a land of commerce and placed in a city of merchants" (Ezekiel 17). You can sense with the audience the excitement building as the tale unfolds. Then the prophet adds, "The Lord said to me, Ask these rebels if they know what the parable means. Tell them..."and so the message is shared. Eagles and cedar trees may not be quite as familiar to today's audiences. They might appreciate Chrysler K cars and ranch-style homes better.

Perhaps the most moving of parables was told by the prophet Nathan to David. "There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. The rich man had many cattle and sheep, while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him." David is spellbound by the story that Nathan continues to tell. The wealthy landowner snatches the lamb from the poor man and slaughters it to feed himself and a visitor. By this time David obviously felt that Nathan's story sounded so realistic that it must be true and vowed revenge upon this greedy and cruel thief. "I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die!" (2 Samuel 12).At this point, the prophet cleverly makes his application in true evangelistic style. "You are that man!" It made its mark, the ploy succeeded totally. In a moment of truth David accepted from Nathan what he could not have been told in a straightforward manner. Today's evangelists should seek to hit their marks in a similar fashion. Parables are a good way to achieve that.

Visions

The vision is similar to the parable in many ways. It spells out what will happen to the people in a descriptive form. Zechariah sees a flying scroll (Zechariah 5:1), four chariots (Zechariah 6:1), and even a woman in a basket (Zechariah 5:5). Behind the picture is a very clear message for the listener.

Music

One of the most effective mediums for the Christian message is music. How about "O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer's praise..." or "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me" The words alone evoke thoughts of God, providing moments of splendour in worship. The prophets used music in order to convey spiritual truth. David, apart from writing down the masterly book of Psalms, sat down with two other prophets, Nathan and Gad, to arrange the Temple worship. Years later, King Hezekiah followed these same written instructions for the ordering of worship. Levites were stationed in the Temple with harps and cymbals, priests had trumpets and as the offering began so did the music with all the people singing praise unto God (2 Chronicles 24:25). Yes, music has its place in worship and evangelism.

Proclamation

Another expected element in prophecy and evangelism is proclamation. Micah speaks out in classic prophetic style: "Hear this, all you nations; listen to this all who live on the earth! The Sovereign Lord will testify against you. Listen..." (Micah 1:2).

Unpredictability

Many of the prophets displayed an out-of-the-ordinary character. They were not consistent and this further heightened the hearers' expectations. King Ahab called his servant Obadiah and told him to find the elusive prophet Elijah. After searching diligently for some time he is suddenly confronted by the great man of God. Obadiah is not quite sure what will happen next and asks, "What if the Spirit of the Lord carries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave?" (1 Kings 18:12). The element of nonconformity remained in the prophets as it should in the evangelist today! Let us now look at the evangelist's message. It is set out in picture form as "Basic Principles."

"Practical Christian Outreach in the Local Church"

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