During the early history of Israel, Jacob and his twelve sons lived in the land of Canaan. The Bible says there was a famine in the land of Israel, and so Jacob (the grandson of Abraham) sent his sons down to Egypt to get some grain.
In Egypt, the prime minister accused the sons of Jacob of being spies and ordered that one of the brothers, named Simeon, be kept as a kind of hostage. He told them not to come back again unless they brought their youngest brother, Benjamin, along with them.
The famine lingered in Canaan and Jacob’s sons once again needed to buy some grain in Egypt. But the brothers insisted that it was no use they go without taking their youngest brother, Benjamin, along. Jacob finally broke down and decided to let his sons go to Egypt again. He instructed them to take a gift along for the prime minister.
They were to take some of the delicacies of Canaan along to Egypt—including “a little honey for the journey.” Genesis 43:11 says, “And their father [Jacob] said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land . . . and carry down [to Egypt]—a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds.”
Today all of us are on a journey. We’ve started out on the Christian pathway, and part of our journey includes the Bible’s command to share the message of salvation with others. That is, we are to evangelize—we are to share the gospel with others! Furthermore, the journey can become more effective if we’re prepared to take along “a little honey for the journey.”
Honey is a sweet-tasting food made by bees from the nectar of flowers. It is an excellent energy food because it contains simple nutrients that can be used quickly by the body. Honey is used as a sweetener in baking and as an ingredient in cough syrup. The ancient Egyptians even used honey in the process of embalming the dead. The word honey, however, is often used as a symbol—a symbol which speaks of anything that’s of an excellent quality. I’ve even heard the expression, “That’s a honey of a car.”
One of the excellent characteristics of the Brethren from earliest times has been the desire to reach out and move into new territory—establishing churches and hoping to win people to faith in Christ. Donald Durnbaugh, the Brethren historian, says that in the autumn of 1724 (soon after the first Brethren came to America) the entire male membership of the Germantown congregation (14 persons in number) set out on an evangelistic tour into Penn’s Woods (Fruit of the Vine, page 77). Their expedition led to the formation of two new congregations (Coventry and Conestoga)—congregations that still exist today. In the years that followed, the Brethren moved westward and southward from those areas.
The Brethren held Anabaptist and Pietist principles. They stressed the deity of Christ and the work Jesus did on the cross. But they also emphasized a complete change of life that was marked by careful obedience to the teachings of the New Testament. Part of their more complete obedience affected their approach to missions and evangelism.
The Brethren (in groups of families) moved together out into new territory and evangelized the community into which they moved by a method of evangelism which is sometimes called lifestyle evangelism. Their quiet ways, their obvious separation from the values of the world, their hard work, and their integrity and truthfulness all made an impact on the new community.
Large numbers of Brethren went on to Ohio and Indiana, and then to North Dakota, Montana, Oregon, and California. I’ve preached in Brethren churches in all those states. Floyd Mallott says that in 1865, forty families from southern Pennsylvania moved to Astoria, Illinois. And “in the spring of 1894 a colony of three hundred and twenty persons” went to North Dakota (Studies in Brethren History, pages 81, 137). The Brethren Encyclopedia says, “The evangelistic methods used by the Brethren . . . included strong doctrinal preaching, migration into new frontier areas, and colonization” (page 460).
The following suggestions can become a little honey to aid us in the task of local missions and evangelism:
1. Motives for Evangelism
There are some factors that move us to consider seriously the task of evangelism. Why do we seek to evangelize (locally) and to support missionary projects (globally)?
a. The Lord commands us to make disciples.
The message of Matthew 28:19 is to go and make disciples of all nations. The parallel account in Mark 16:15 says that we are to “preach the gospel to every creature.” And in Acts 1:8, Jesus says that we are to be witnesses unto Him in Jerusalem (the home area), and in all Judea (the whole country), and to the ends of the earth (the whole world). We seek to bring others to Christ not necessarily because we want to or because we like to, but because we’ve been told to!
b. The masses of human beings are without God.
In 1 Corinthians 15:34, the Apostle Paul says, “Some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” There are still many places on the face of the earth (some places in our own nation) where the message of the gospel is a strange story.
There are multitudes under the grip of the cults and many others in Christian churches who have heard only the social dimensions of the gospel—and still others who have never been challenged to obey the simple commandments of the New Testament.
There are multitudes of immigrants who hold to a variety of religious ideas that are far removed from the truths of the Christian faith. In Los Angeles schools, for example, about 100 languages are spoken, including children who speak Mandarin, Tagalog, Korean, Armenian, Persian, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. All those languages are in just one city here in America.
c. Unbelievers will be punished in hell-fire.
Jesus says that those who believe and are baptized shall be saved, but those who do not believe the gospel shall be condemned (Mark 16:16). Those who are outside of faith in Christ (regardless of religious or cultural background) will go out into eternity alone, lost souls forever.
J. Hudson Taylor was the founder of the missionary movement in China. When he was an aged man near the close of his missionary career, he said, “I would never have thought of going to China had I not been convinced that those who have never heard and responded to the gospel message were doomed for hell.”
d. God made salvation available for all.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:19 (when describing the death of Jesus for the sins of the human family), “For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but,” as the Living Bible says it, “blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.”
The gospel message is composed of bad news and good news:
- The bad news is that all have sinned and are under the wrath of God.
- The good news is that God has provided a way by which our guilt can be removed.
The gospel message is that reconciliation between us and God is accomplished by the death of Christ and the blood that He shed on Calvary when we agree to appropriate that truth for our own lives.
These are factors that motivate us to evangelize and to support various worthy missionary enterprises:
- We’re commanded to make disciples.
- Multitudes of people are without God.
- Unbelievers face an eternity of condemnation.
- Salvation by the grace of God is available for all.
2. Obligations in Evangelism
What are the duties placed upon us as committed Christians regarding the matter of reaching others for Christ?
a. Our first obligation is to look.
Jesus urged that we do not delay, saying, “There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest.” Jesus said, “Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35). The Living Bible paraphrase says, “Vast fields of human souls are ripening all around us, and are ready now for reaping.”
Look at the fields in the United States! Millions of Americans never attend Sunday school or church services. Countless numbers of citizens in the United States are facing the future without God and without eternal hope. Some are recent immigrants to the country.
Greater Miami has the largest Cuban population of any city in the United States. Nearly a million Jews live in New York City. There are 574 federally recognized tribes of Native Americans, many of whom follow pagan religions and live in urban areas, not just in the reservations. There are other mission fields close to home, including neighbors, family members, and fellow employees at the places where we work. Jesus says, “Lift up your eyes and look!”
b. The second duty is to pray.
Jesus speaks about the harvest of human souls in Luke 10:2, and says, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” One of the most powerful means to help us win others for Christ is the avenue of prayer. Not all Christians can give large sums of money to support evangelism. Not all Christians have been gifted with the talent of tactful speech. But every genuine Christian can pray for the success of the gospel—and we ought to do that on a regular basis.
One of the most discouraging things church leaders often face when trying to plan a mission outreach is learning of people who criticize and find fault with the efforts to reach others for Christ. Stop your nit-picking and start encouraging those brave souls who are taking a big step to engage in missions. Pray the Lord of the harvest that He may send forth laborers into the harvest.
c. The third duty is to send.
The Apostle Paul speaks about evangelism (in Romans 10) and the need for people everywhere to hear the gospel message. But he says, “How shall they preach except they be sent?” (Romans 10:15).
In Acts 11:22 we learn that when the mother church at Jerusalem sensed the need for the gospel message in other towns, they sent their best representatives to proclaim the gospel message. The Bible says that Barnabas was “sent.” There’s no hint that he volunteered or that he felt personally called. But the church at Jerusalem was “a sending church.”
It is our duty to keep on sending people into areas where the gospel witness is not well known. Some of us are in circumstances that make it almost impossible (or perhaps unwise) to pull up stakes and move to another area. But nearly all of us can give to support those who are sent!
d. The fourth duty is to go.
Jesus says, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
- Lift up your eyes and look.
- Lift up your hearts and pray.
- Lift up your hands and give.
- Lift up your feet and go.
Some are qualified and called to go to fields overseas. Others are called to be soul winners at home. Every one of us is letting a testimony of some kind. Evangelism is the task of the whole church, not just something designed for church leaders. Most of us (as the old hymn implies) cannot preach like Paul, nor can we speak like angels, but surely we can simply say, “Jesus died for all.”
The message today is a call, urging each believer to be more intentional about reaching out and seeking to bring people to faith in Christ.
3. Preparation for Evangelism
What are some necessary qualities to be cultivated as we prepare to get involved in colonizing a new community or in evangelizing our present communities? What are some of the prerequisites for participating in a mission outreach?
a. A good working knowledge of the Bible message.
We must know briefly how to describe the plan of salvation, and we should be familiar with the content of the Bible as a whole.
When Philip the evangelist met the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza, he found the man reading the passage of Scripture from Isaiah 53 where it says, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth” (Acts 8:32). It was at that point that Philip began at the same Scripture to preach to him the message about Jesus. Philip would have lost a great opportunity for witnessing if he had not been able to find (in the Scriptures) the place where the eunuch was reading, and if he had no idea what the prophet Isaiah was talking about.
b. A tactful approach in meeting and talking with people.
Tact is the ability to present truth without unduly offending. We must always be courteous and thoughtful and sensitive to people’s feelings (1 Peter 3:8 says so). If you rush into an unsaved person’s presence, and say, “My friend, if you don’t believe in Jesus and turn from your sins, you’ll end up in Hell,” and then quote a chapter and verse from the Bible—you’ll likely drive that person farther from faith in Christ rather than closer to Him.
I’ve seen a few Christians carrying a Bible the size of an old Sears, Roebuck catalog, and plunk it down in front of a prospect—and start off on him! One man says, “When you witness to a sinner, put the Bible on him, and watch him cringe!” But we must never approach people as though we were trying to conquer them. Rather, we approach them as fellow travelers along the pathway of life.
M. R. DeHaan used to tell about the barber who was enthusiastic about witnessing for Christ. He had lots of zeal but was not very tactful. One time the barber had a client in the barber chair. He was strapping his razor and getting ready to shave the man when, all of a sudden, he said, “Say, my friend, are you ready to die?” The client was startled—and bolted from his chair, ran out of the barber shop, and never did come back! Some people put their face right up into yours; they have bad breath, and they keep on talking away. You’ll seldom win anyone to Christ that way.
By way of contrast, Charles Trumbull (editor of the Sunday School Times), was a very tactful man. One day Trumbull was riding a train when a drunk came and sat on the seat right alongside Mr. Trumbull, the dignified editor of this Christian magazine. The drunken man, spewing out profanity and filth, offered Trumbull a swallow from his liquor bottle. Trumbull could have blasted the man for his sins, but instead, Trumbull politely declined the drink and said to the drunken man, “No thanks, I don’t care for any. But you know, I can see that you are a very generous man.” The man’s eyes lit up with surprise (despite his drunken stupor). It was that remark that began a conversation which eventually brought the man to Jesus.
c. Being a good example at your daily occupation.
Each of us should aim to be the best worker (and the most dependable person) that our employer has. Colossians 3:23 says that we should do our work “heartily, as to the Lord.” On the assembly line (or in the office or shop), if you are willing to do a little extra (even more than you are told) while others are shirking their duties, you’ll stand out in a remarkable way.
We’re working for the Lord Jesus, and every piece of work we do should be good enough to show to Him! You can tell more about a person’s character by observing the way he works than by listening to the way he prays. We should aim to be cheerful workers—thankful to God for strength each day to do useful work.
William Barclay (in one of his commentaries) tells of a group of international students who were attending a Christian camp and were discussing various ways to evangelize people. During the conversation, they turned to a girl from Africa and said, “Maria, what do you do (how do you reach out) in your country?”
She said, “We don’t have missionaries, and we don’t give out many tracts and pamphlets. We just send three or four Christian families to live and work in a village, and when people see what real Christians are like—some of them want to follow Jesus too.”
Barclay says, “In the end, there’s nothing that influences people more than the argument of a consistent Christian life.” That is good counsel for all of us.
Well, this has been a little honey for the journey!
Lord, we thank you that we have been redeemed, not with silver and gold, but with the blood of Christ. Give us courage to speak tactfully with those who need to know Jesus in a personal way. Open hearts to hear the gospel and to find peace—by following Jesus and embracing Him as Savior.
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