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EVANGELISM IS THE MAIN THING

by Dr. Kreighton L. Chan

A sermon preached at the Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles
Saturday Evening, August 6, 2016

“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost…also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing” (I Thessalonians 1:5, 8).


Evangelism is “the main thing” in our church. Yes we have to watch cars, but that is not the main thing. Yes we have to clean up the church on Sunday night. But that is not the main thing. Yes we have to do other things. But the main thing is evangelism. The main thing is to bring in more names from evangelism! Because evangelism is the main thing we are doing! And no matter what else we do, we must never lose sight of this. Evangelism is the main thing in our church because it is the main thing God wants us to do! Evangelism is what we do to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission. It is how we spread the Gospel. Evangelism is how Christianity has spread to the whole world! In China and the Third World Christianity is thriving because they do evangelism. Christianity is dying in America because the churches do not do evangelism. Doing evangelism is a matter of “life or death” to any church. The future of our church depends on evangelism.

Evangelism is recorded throughout the pages of the New Testament. We see it in the book of Acts. And we see it in churches like Thessalonica. This was a young church, less than one year old, made up of young people. These young Thessalonians show us the importance of evangelism.

In I Thessalonians we read how evangelism was done in the early church. And how God blessed it with explosive growth. Please stand and turn in your Bible to I Thessalonians 1:4. That’s found on page 1267 in the Scofield Study Bible.

I am speaking on the importance of evangelism. And why it must be the main thing in our church.

First, there must be the preaching of the Gospel. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians,

“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost” (I Thessalonians 1:5).

The first thing we do is get their names on evangelism. Then we phone them and get them to come to church. But that is not our final goal. The final goal in evangelism is to bring the lost to Christ. Christ is placed in the center of our preaching. He becomes the main thing in our preaching. And we must pray for God’s presence to be with the lost to help them hear the Gospel. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin and draw them to Christ.

“We preach Christ crucified … unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (I Corinthians 1:23-24).

In evangelism, there must be Gospel preaching. Next, there must be a living faith. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians,

“In every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing” (I Thessalonians 1:8).

The Christians in Thessalonica had a “living faith” that had a great impact upon others. They were constantly evangelizing the lost. Their faith in Christ was spread all over the place. People wanted to know what made these people so different and so special. These Christians possessed the same zeal that Paul had. Paul’s example inspired them. He loved Christ, and he loved lost souls. And he was zealous in evangelism. Paul’s example deeply affected them. Paul said,

“And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord” (I Thessalonians 1:6).

They became disciples by following the example of the Apostle and of Christ Himself. And Paul’s impression on these Christians was deeper than just being a good example. Paul said, “what manner of entering in we had unto you” (I Thessalonians 1:9). They received the same zeal that Paul had. And they became soul winners like Paul.

I have been in this church for nearly 38 years. And throughout these many years I have witnessed Dr. Hymers’ great zeal for souls. I have witnessed it every week in his faithful preaching of the Gospel and in his emphasis on evangelism. And his example greatly affected me. Dr. Hymers’ zeal for souls should inspire us all!

Life was very difficult in the ancient Roman world. Most people died at a very young age, and nearly everyone felt misery and despair. But the Thessalonian Christians lived victorious lives. They were not defeated by their terrible situation. The Apostle Paul wrote,

“Having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost” (I Thessalonians 1:6).

The Thessalonians suffered much affliction, even more than the average Roman did. Because the Roman world hated Christians. They were terribly persecuted. And many became martyrs who died for their faith in Christ. Yet these people were filled with great joy. And their lives were completely changed. They were great examples to the lost of what Christ could do for them. In Rome, idols were everywhere. The Roman emperor even promoted himself as a god to be worshipped. But the Thessalonian Christians were different. They refused to worship these idols. They “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (I Thessalonians 1:9). And lost people saw this! They wanted to know more about Christ. They wanted the same joy these Christians had. The lost wanted to follow the example of the Thessalonian Christians. They wanted to know the true and living God who had given the Christians so much joy. People saw the faith of these Christians. The impact of the Thessalonians made Paul’s preaching effective. When people see that you are excited about Christ, they will want to know more about Him!

A powerful, living faith in Christ will draw lost sinners into our church and keep them here. We will have more zeal to go out to the college campuses to bring in names. We will spend more time in evangelism, and we will bring in many more names. We will bring in our classmates and our friends. We will have more desire to get to know the lost better. We will be constantly thinking about them and caring for them. We will be able to pray for them more effectively.

Brothers, sisters, and friends, we must do more evangelism. Evangelism is the main thing. Let us be sure then to make it the main thing! We have Christ and the message of the Gospel. Let us be like the Thessalonian Christians! Let evangelism become our main goal as it was for them! Let us be shining lights to the lost young people around us. And may God give us the zeal to get more names on evangelism!

Paul gave God all the glory for the success of the Thessalonians. Because the reason for their success came from God. It was God who granted them success. God made sure that those whom He chose to salvation were brought in from evangelism. It is God who brought power to the preaching that led to their conversion. It is God who helped Paul to be an example in soul winning. It was God who gave the Thessalonians the desire to be like Paul. It was God who gave them a living faith. And it was God who made their evangelism effective.

Let us pray that God would work more through us in our evangelism so that we can build a great church. That is why I am telling you to bring in more names. Bring in names from personal evangelism. Bring in more names when you go out with us on personal evangelism. More names and phone numbers will result in more conversions. That is the way to add more people to the New Baptist Tabernacle! Amen.


WHEN YOU WRITE TO DR. HYMERS YOU MUST TELL HIM WHAT COUNTRY YOU ARE WRITING FROM OR HE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR E-MAIL. If these sermons bless you send an e-mail to Dr. Hymers and tell him, but always include what country you are writing from. Dr. Hymers’ e-mail is at rlhymersjr@sbcglobal.net (click here). You can write to Dr. Hymers in any language, but write in English if you can. If you want to write to Dr. Hymers by postal mail, his address is P.O. Box 15308, Los Angeles, CA 90015. You may telephone him at (818)352-0452.

(END OF SERMON)
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