EVANGELIST – A bringer of good news.
An evangelist is someone who is called by God to spread the gospel to the lost. The Old Testament is a good place to find the gift of the Evangelist outlined.
MOSES - A TYPE AND SHADOW OF THE EVANGELIST
Exodus 3:2-3
2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
God’s first interaction with Moses was through a burning bush. This was considered a “great sight” in the mind of Moses and it was a compelling factor to lead him to the Lord. This is a type of how God draws the lost to Himself.
The scriptures declare that there is none that seeketh after righteousness, therefore, if God intends to make Himself known, He must draw men unto Himself. The first thing God must do is reveal Himself, and He does so by proving His existence.
In the example with Moses, He appeared miraculously as a bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. This is what caused Moses to seek out more about what He had witnessed. Notice Moses’ response,
“I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”
Thus, when God draws, He does not force an individual to do anything; He simply reveals Himself, and the individual will seek out more.
Exodus 3:4-6
4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
5 And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
This is Moses’ calling. The Lord called him by name and Moses answered. However, he was restricted from coming too close to the Lord. This is where Moses and the sons of God differ. Today, the sons of God are invited into the Holy of Holies, into the Spirit of the living God.
I must make mention here of God’s strategy. It was not hard for Moses to believe the voice that came out of the bush when it said, “I am God…” because He was witnessing a miracle before His eyes. God does the same thing to us today when He is drawing us. He works a sign, or a wonder in our lives, that we know only God could do. Sometimes that sign is healing, or maybe a situation resolving miraculously, or even a changed heart; either way, it will be miraculous enough that will cause us to trust whatever He says. Thus, when the miracle is explained as the power of God it is easy for one to believe because they have already witnessed the impossible.
God's strategy is to also make Moses an unmoveable believer in the power of God, this will give Him confidence when he works his ministry later.
Exodus 3:7-8
7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
It is important here to mention how God feels about mankind. Though they have left Him, He has a great love for them. He is aware that their disposition is because of the captivity they are in, thus, His desire is to deliver, as opposed to condemn.
The Egyptians symbolize the Kingdom of Darkness. When Adam sinned, mankind was sold under sin and bound to darkness. Thus, we were now captives of the will of darkness, even as the Israelites were to the Egyptians. When one is captive, they can only do what the captor commands. If they rebel there are grave consequences. Likewise, the man that does not have the Holy Ghost is bound to the will of the devil.
Romans 7:13-18
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Above is the testimony of someone who does not have the Holy Spirit. They will desire to do good but lack the power to. If a captive disobeys their master, they will be punished. Likewise, when someone without the Holy Spirit tries to be righteous, the devil will beat them into submission, with feelings, urges and cravings that they cannot overpower or control. This is why when someone is possessed, the devil often causes the individual to convulse. Convulsion occurs when the soul is trying to do something but the devil is overpowering their will.
This is a wretched state (Rom 7:24). God looked at this and pitied the world. Even as His heart melted for the captivity of Israel, so does His heart melt for the captivity of mankind. Thus, He has said,
“…And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land…”
Jesus came down from heaven to deliver us from the hand of the enemy, and to bring us into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Exodus 3:9-10
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
This is the calling of an Evangelist! They are called to confront the devil that is within mankind. This confrontation is by God’s ordination, hence God will do anything to vindicate it.
Exodus 3:11
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Isn’t this the disposition of most of us? How is Moses, an ex-murderer going to have the authority to free the people of Israel from the dominion of Egypt? Compared to Pharaoh, Moses was a criminal nomad, on the other hand, Pharaoh was the king of the greatest empire on earth.
Exodus 3:12
And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
This is the assurance that God will move – He is with you. Notice, God did not say, “and if thou has brought forth the people,” but He said, “When thou hast brought forth the people” This is the assurance the evangelist must have in their heart. God will use them to destroy the works of darkness. It does not matter what their past was, all that matters is that God has called them now!
THE EVANGELIST’S WORD
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
The Evangelist is called to speak to two kingdoms; the kingdoms of men and the kingdom of darkness. Their word to the souls of men is spoken directly to their hearts.
The Evangelist must carry the word of God to the lost souls of God. Notice that God knew they would ask what is His name? The name God gave was I AM THAT I AM. This is interesting when we come to the New Covenant.
John 8:58
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 14:1&6
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
In the New Covenant, God is declaring that all believe in His son. Jesus is the Word of God, the name on which all must believe. Thus, salvation is through Jesus Christ. This is the evangelist's message.
Exodus 3:16-17
16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
THE EVANGELIST’S WORD TO MEN – God, whose Son is Jesus Christ, has sent me to deliver you, by His power, from the powers of the darkness unto the Kingdom of God. (Eph 1:12-13)
I want you to pause for a moment and consider what God has said.
“I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt”
But when did He see?
Genesis 15:13-14
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
God was able to declare to Abraham that the children of Israel would indeed be captive in Egypt. God spoke this, while the children of Israel were yet in the loins of Abraham. Likewise, were the children of God in the loins of God in eternity past, but were manifest on earth as captives. However, in the fullness of time, through the work of evangelists, God has redeemed us, and will continue to redeem those lost souls that are His.
Why would God allow man to be born into captivity?
Romans 9:17
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
God allowed his people to be born in sin because He wanted to reveal His mighty power that could cause them to be born again. It is through salvation that the angels and devils witness for themselves the vastness of the power of God (Eph 3:10).
Exodus 3:18
And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
Here is another assurance, God’s people shall hearken unto your voice. Even as Jesus has said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me (John 10:28). This is good to remember because we will often preach to those who are not sheep. If you are led to preach to a goat it is for the purpose of sealing their judgment when they reject the Word you bring.
Romans 10, describes the word of God as being in the heart of the sinner. It is bottled up in their conscience (Ecc 3:11), however, they need a preacher in order for them to be enlightened to that Word. When a sinner hears the word of God, their conscience will bear witness to the truth that is being spoken. When the conscience begins to bear witness to the truth, this is faith being planted in the heart of the hearer (Rom 10:17). Therefore, all they then need to do to be saved is to confess that which their conscience has already borne witness to. Thus, the word is in their mouth. It is this confession of faith that the Holy Spirit responds to and saves the individual.
THE WORD OF THE EVANGELIST TO THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS – Let God’s people go.
Bear in mind that the evangelist is called to speak to two kingdoms, men and darkness. Their word to the devil is that he looses God’s people from his hold. This word is by the authority of God.
Jude 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
This is where the evangelist’s confidence comes from when confronting the devil. They are not speaking on their own accord, but they are carrying the rebuke of the Lord. This is where many step outside the boundaries of the faith. They become arrogant and proud when dealing with devils. However, it is God who must drive the devil out; flesh can do nothing. The devil will only leave when it is God’s will for it to happen.
How will one know it is God’s will?
And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him…
Did you notice that Moses was instructed to speak to Pharaoh after the people of Israel believed his word? Likewise, the sinner’s heart must come to a place of belief in the word of God and a desire for deliverance in order for the evangelist’s word to the devil to be effective. If the sinner’s heart has not come to that place, the devil has the right to remain in the person; because it was God who said, for in the day that thou eastest thereof thou shalt surely die. Thus, the devil’s presence in the flesh is by the word of God.
Adam disobeyed and therefore the devil had the right to work sin and death in the lives of man. It took Jesus, the sinless sacrifice, to pay for the sins of the world, for it to be now legal for the devil to be loosed. This also shows the importance of the evangelist being saved, because satan cannot drive out satan. It must be the Holy Ghost who uses the body of the evangelist to cast the spirit out.
Exodus 3:19-20
19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
Seeing that the devil will not willingly loose his hold on mankind, it takes the Spirit of God to drive him out. If he will not willingly go, the Spirit of God will evict Him by force.
While writing this I had a vision of the presence of an evangelist. The holy evangelist’s presence puts fear in the heart of the devil, because it is God who is in the evangelist. The presence of God has the power to bind the power of the enemy so that He may talk to the soul of the individual freely without devilish interruption.
THE EVANGELIST’S POWER
Exodus 4:1-5
1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground.
3 And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
The Evangelist has the duty of convincing the unbeliever of the gospel. Therefore, God bears the burden of proof.
John 10:37-38
37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
The gospel message can on the surface seem hard to believe, therefore, God often works signs wonders and miracles, to convince the hearers. The signs and wonders are also the will of God, therefore the evangelist does not need to be doubtful of what God will do. It is God’s will to convince the hearers, therefore the Evangelist should be free in their heart, knowing that if they are holy God will perform whatsoever they ask.
Ephesians 4:11
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
1 Corinthians 12:28
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Notice, that the gift of the evangelist is called gifts of miracles and healings in 1 Corinthians 12? This is because God uses them in miraculous ways to confirm the word of God.
1 Corinthians 14:24
But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
God will also reveal secrets to an evangelist. This is a sign or a wonder. An evangelist will be able to through ministry reveal the secrets of a man's heart and bring them to repentance. How can he bring men to repentance, if he does not know their sins? Thus, if the person has not mentioned their sins, God will reveal them.
Luke 14:23
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
It is the responsibility of an Evangelist to compel the lost to come into the household of faith. Definitely, miracles have a compelling nature, but an evangelist, will also typically have gifts, talents, and/or a personality that will allure people to have an audience with the evangelist.
THE EVANGELIST IN ORDER
The Evangelist is a member of the Body of Christ, and hence must be poured into like any other member. They must have the oversight of a Pastor, who is set thirdly in the Body as a gift that ensures that all others are operating in the apostle’s doctrine and blueprint.
The word that the evangelist preaches the parts of the mystery of Christ that are comprehendible to the lost. Evangelist, focus more on revealing the plan and mind of God for the lost as opposed to teaching the deep things of God for the saints. In fact, this is the operation of their gift; it is able to take the deep things of God and make it palatable for the lost.
An Evangelist's heart will constantly be pointed towards the lost, whereas, the other gifts will be pointed towards the Body of Christ. Every member of the Body of Christ is called to the ministry of reconciliation. However, for the gifts that are not evangelists that reconciliation is done mostly by the example of Christ in their lives. However, in the Evangelist, Jesus functions as a preacher to the lost. Therefore, His fellowship with the evangelist is often concerning the lost. Therefore, an evangelist reconciles by their life, but also heavily through their ministry.
It is important to note that the evangelist is not the only gift that has the ability to works signs and wonders. However, the sign worked by the evangelist is for the purpose of convincing the unbeliever. Whereas a sign and wonder can be in the life of a son of God to bless them, the evangelist is focused on turning unbelievers into believers.
Therefore their gift is able to take the apostle's doctrine, and preach it to the lost in a way they can comprehend, this preaching is coupled with a compelling feature that is embedded in the evangelist; whether it be the power of miracles, a gift or talent, or a personality. The word that they preach will prick the heart of the hearer, and inspire repentance. So even though over gifts can work miracles and even save the lost, the evangelist is specialized in it.
What is the Plan of God for the Lost?
The plan of God is that man would be redeemed from their sins, by the precious blood of Jesus, and receive the opportunity to be a son of God and to escape the wrath of God.
If an evangelist does not comprehend the mystery of Christ, they will not know what they are dealing with on the field. They will not know what to do when situations arise, and they will bring shame to themselves. It is the knowledge of the mystery of Christ and its operation that allows the evangelist to be skilled in discerning who and what he is dealing with.
Moreover, a revelation of the mystery of Christ gives also a revelation of the mystery of iniquity.
2 Thessalonians 2:7
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way
Colossians 1:27
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
If the mystery of Christ is Christ in you, the hope of glory, then the mystery of iniquity is satan in you, the assurance of destruction.
An evangelist must be aware of the wiles of the devil and his subtleties that can be at work in the mind of the unsaved. For more details on this, read my book “At the Altar.”
REFORMATORY WORK
There are also times, like now, that the church needs evangelizing. God will use an evangelist even any other gift to teach the Body of Christ the fundamentals concerning the mystery of God. This will bring the church back on course with God. However, once the church has come back on course with God, the evangelist, lacks the ability, to move the people into the will of God for their lives individually and collectively. They do not receive a vision for the people as the apostle, prophet and pastor do. Therefore, they will turn back to the unsaved.
Usually, when God is establishing a church, He will work in signs and wonders to prove that it is of God. This too is a form of evangelism, because you are compelling people to hear the word of God, through the glory of God.
A WORD FROM GOD
Lastly, I wanted to mention that as I prepared to write this lesson, the Lord began to speak very plainly to me about evangelists.
“They are my chosen ones and are sent to deliver my secret to the world. I have blessed them to reveal the hidden things of my heart and make them plain. They are my arms that reach out and grab my people into my bosom. I have appointed them to bring glad tidings…
I have anointed them with the spiritual ability to make plain that which is mysterious… to compel men to come. They see the secrets of men’s hearts and to open it before them. They draw the lost unto me. I have set them forth as lights in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overtake them, but they shine as lights… working signs and wonders in the presence of mine enemies. So, do my evangelists give glory unto me.
They are the ones I have chosen to interact with the lost. To interact with men. To speak directly to the souls of men, even though they are in captivity. They speak, and their words reach the hearts of men and bring them forth. They find my scattered sheep, those that I have chosen in eternity, and bring them to light.
I have chosen them to confront the devil. While the rest of the gifts protect the Body from him, the Evangelist confronts him. I have set them forth to destroy the works of satan. To purge the earth. They build my Building. They carry the word given from my apostles and build my church with it.
That’s why they must be anointed.”
Let us be holy so that the Father can use us to destroy the works of satan.
Apostle Kareem Flowers
Sunrise with Jesus