AWAKENING THE SLEEPING GIANT OF EVANGELISM 2017 NGM, WINNEBA

MAN’S unconditional authority “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground… God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” Genesis 1:26 and 28 Note that God placed zero qualification on the authority He gave mankind

THE FALL Was it envy? Result of the fall: a power transfer from Man to Satan Observe the uncontested statement Satan made to Jesus. “I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.”

THE RESTORATION The death, burial and resurrection opened the door of restoration. Satan and his cohorts were roundly defeated! “And having disarmed the powers and the authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Always remember we are fighting a defeated foe. Satan cannot touch you without your consent and cooperation.

THE EARLY CHURCH Christianity was spread like wildfire in the first century by common, ordinary laymen, who having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, vigorously shared the stories of the resurrection and their personal testimonies wherever they went. Their message was confirmed with signs, wonders and miracles Stephen and Philip were examples They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to breaking of bread in homes, and to prayer

THE CONSTANTINIAN YEARS In the 4th Century, the Constantinian Dynasty ruled over Rome. The dynasty first decreed religious tolerance for Christianity and eventually declared it the “Official Religion” of the Roman Empire through the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD. Christianity in that era saw several landmarks of which the following were prominent in disempowering the ordinary believer: The preaching of the Gospel moved into buildings Professional preachers were hired The Bible was in Greek and Latin and only a few people could read it In a nutshell, the professional preachers became the centre of gravity of Christianity.

The sleeping giant of evangelism For over a thousand five hundred years, religion controlled the average believer. Ordinary Christians sitting in churches were essentially ‘put to sleep’ regarding their calling to spread the Gospel. Indeed laymen became the sleeping giant of evangelism. Note that, today, the sleeping giant comes in two forms: Believers in Churches: men and women whom the Holy Spirit is stirring up and who want to do more for God, but don’t know how. Unbelievers Who are Getting Saved

The ‘awakening’ All through the ‘dark years’ there were always pockets of believers who walked the straight and narrow and refused to succumb to the spiritual decay around them. The 1900s Charles Parham and his students – 1901 experience The Azusa Street Revival (1906 – 1915) – the primary catalyst for the spread of Pentecostalism in the 20th Century. Considered by then Christian theologians and the secular media as ‘outrageous and unorthodox’

The vision Demos Shakarian, a dairyman from California, received revelation that just before the return of Jesus to Earth, God would do three things: The Holy Spirit would be poured out on all flesh This would stir up a worldwide layman movement Laymen would become the principal workers of the Great Harvest Then Jesus would return. Further revelation in 1955 pointed out that FGBMFI was God’s instrument to awaken these laymen who are the sleeping giant of evangelism

The Fgbmfi mandate (1) The mandate of FGBMFI therefore is to awaken men and women working in the marketplace (non-clergy) to be just like the disciples of the 1st Century. Laymen – ordinary, common believers are the evangelists of our century. The Mandate is NOT to the Chapter. The Mandate is Personal – to individual FGBMFI members. Each FGBMFI member must awake and assist in awakening the giant of evangelism.

Fgbmfi mandate (2) The six-line mission statement of FGBMFI can be summarised in the following words: ‘helping laymen become effective soul winners, that is, harvest workers’. We have to get people saved. We have to see people delivered and set free. We have to see people healed. In the Great Commission Jesus called us to do all these and more – we are to transform sinners into soul winners. (Matthew 28:19, 20) Therefore our job as a Fellowship is not done until we get new believers baptised in the Holy Spirit and trained as Fishers of men to take God’s love to family and friends with the help of the local chapter.

The holy spirit baptism The Holy Spirit baptism is a vital step in the fulfilment of the FGBMFI mandate. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) New believers must be helped to receive the Holy Spirit baptism if they are to be retained in the Fellowship and become effective workers. Leave out the dynamic of the Holy Spirit baptism and you are holding a one-way ticket to failure in making the new Christian a soul winner. Always remember that new believers need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to become effective Fishers of Men!

SUMMARY OF MANDATE RECRUIT WIN souls for Jesus: Reach men in all nations for Jesus Christ; Call men back to God (Refer to the FGBMFI Mission Statement) EQUIP BUILD them up into Disciples: Help believers to be baptised in the Holy Spirit and to grow spiritually; Train and equip men to fulfil the Great Commission (Refer to FGBMFI Mission Statement) DEPLOY SEND them into the marketplace to help make other disciples (2 Timothy 2:2) A Summary of our Mandate The heart of our mandate can be captured in three key words: Recruit … Equip … Deploy

INDIVIDUAL ACTION PLAN Now that you have understood the FGBMFI Mandate, you can now better appreciate the need to commit to an Individual Action Plan as suggested under Operation 7 by 4: Target any 5 persons per year Spend at least 5 minutes to pray for them daily Buy them each edition of Voice Magazine and a copy of the ‘Happiest People on Earth’ Invite them to an outreach meeting as led Continue to pray for them And remember that new believers need the baptism of the Holy Spirit if they are to become effective harvest workers!

CONCLUSION God has privileged us in Christ Jesus to live above the ordinary human plane of life. Those who want to be ordinary and live on a lower plane can do so, but as for me, I will not.” Smith Wigglesworth