A brother in the Lord recently asked me to outline for him the double-barreled approach to outreach: Giving people the loving Gospel square on with no holds barred. This is my attempt at answering that task. And to be sure, this is not a me-thing, but (as ever ought to be) a Jesus-thing—that is—what the Lord taught, demonstrated, and began as his pattern to reach the poor and lost of the world.
First century vs 21st century
The stark truth is that people of the first century BC and AD were in a far better position to take in the Gospel than we are in the 21st century. This is because they knew things as a result of their common worldview and culture that we do not. In fact, our worldview and culture is actively fighting against the knowledge they had. And what is this knowledge? It is what I will call a supernatural worldview.
What is of paramount interest to me is how Pentecostals top the list of those most likely to hold a supernatural worldview and accept such matters on their face. Here's a list in order from most-like to least likely.
NOTE: I want you "Catholic-bashers" to set aside your strong emotions for a moment and just calm yourself as you read this list. We're going to come to this matter along the roadway of this article. Here's the list:
Determining which Christian sects are most likely to believe in a supernatural worldview can be challenging, as beliefs can vary widely even within a single denomination based on individual interpretation, cultural influences, and personal experiences. However, here are some Christian sects that traditionally emphasize the supernatural:
1. Pentecostalism: Pentecostals place a strong emphasis on experiences of God's presence, and believe in the modern-day operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which include miracles, healing, and speaking in tongues.
2. Charismatic Movement: This movement is similar to Pentecostalism and can be found across many different denominations. Charismatics also believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the ongoing possibility of miracles.
3. Roman Catholicism: The Catholic Church recognizes miracles and supernatural events, such as apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The Church also practices the rite of exorcism for those believed to be possessed by evil spirits.
4. Eastern Orthodoxy: The Orthodox Church also recognizes miracles and has many traditions involving the supernatural, such as the Holy Fire in Jerusalem.
5. Evangelicalism: Many Evangelicals believe in the possibility of miracles and divine healing, though the emphasis on these beliefs can vary widely.
6. Methodism: Some Methodists believe in the supernatural, particularly within the more charismatic or evangelical branches of the denomination.
7. Lutheranism While Lutherans believe in a supernatural God and in miracles as described in the Bible, they generally place less emphasis on modern-day miracles compared to some of the other groups listed.
8. Reformed/Presbyterian: These denominations believe in a supernatural God and biblical miracles, but generally do not emphasize modern-day miracles or charismatic gifts.
9. Anglicanism: Beliefs among Anglicans can vary widely, with some members holding more charismatic beliefs and others taking a more skeptical view of the supernatural.
10. Unitarian Universalism: As a liberal religious movement, Unitarian Universalism encompasses a wide range of beliefs. Some members may believe in the supernatural, while others may not.
Again, it's important to note that beliefs can vary widely even within these groups, and many Christians may hold personal beliefs that don't align perfectly with their chosen denomination.
Dr. Michael Heiser used to say that those most opposed to the idea and history of Watchers and giants in scripture were those who were either deeply opposed to the supernatural or were (as he coined the term) selectively supernatural. Such people will keep supernatural ideas they are comfortable with and toss out anything that makes them uncomfortable or that makes them look bad (uneducated, unsophisticated, or irrational) in the eyes of the world around them. These are people who will have the deepest problems with statements from Paul like "science, falsely so called".
With this in mind, let's talk for a moment about the supernatural worldview of the first century that is largely (if not completely) missing from our modern worldview (rationalism and science).
Worldview: 1st century BC—1st century AD
Poor Jews held a worldview that included all things supernatural. Sometimes they went too far, straying into paganism with Jewish mysticism draped over it to make it palatable to them so they didn't feel like they were being Gentiles.
For poor Jews in the northern parts of Israel, there was a strong belief in a basic story. That story is pretty simple. It included fallen angelic beings called Watchers who attacked humanity, defiled women, had giants, and the whole thing spiraled into a mess of violence and sin with the Watchers and giants leading the way in sin and enticing men to follow them blindly into it all.
While ancient Jews recognized the depravity of man, they did not lay the entire fault at the feet of Adam, Eve, and the men who came after as their children. Sure, they saw the frailty of mankind and themselves, but it was the rebellious incursion and attack of heavenly beings that brought about the amplification of sin, violence, corruption, and defilement to both our human family and the earth and universe in general.
It is worth noting that Jewish Sadducees (who controlled the priesthood and Jerusalem Temple) renounced anything supernatural at all, which instantly put them at odds with their fellow poor Jews and (ultimately) with Jesus (as he was nothing but supernatural from head to toe, all day long, every day of his life).
On the other hand, the Pharisees' belief system was selectively supernatural, in the sense that they did not attribute all events or phenomena to supernatural causes, but while they believed that God could and did intervene in the world, they also believed in the existence of human free will, suggesting a balance between divine providence and human action.
Their beliefs were heavily influenced by the Oral Torah, which they considered to be the authoritative source of religious law above the Written Torah, where they controlled the interpretation through their Rabbi's. Thus, the Pharisees, linked in wealth and power with the Sadducees, literally ran the religious "show" of Judaism for about 536 years before Jesus, where the only hiccup was a splintering off of a group of Jews that Flavious Josephus called "The Essenes" and who self-described themselves as the People of the Way of the Desert.
It was this people of The Way in the northern parts and deserts of Judea that formed the bulk of the poor Jewish views of a fully supernatural view of Torah (the OT Bible) through the lens of the writings (testaments) of the patriarchs (fathers)—Adam to Aaron, which then lensed and filtered their views of Torah (Moses and the Prophets). They largely clung to and camped out on prophecy, where they were powerfully driven to looking and preparing for Messiah.
Moreover, it was this people—the People of the Way of the Desert—who had deep influence over the poor in Israel. It is why the Essenes were largely loved and the Pharisees and Sadducees (who cavorted with pagan Roman's and pagan gods in the shadows) were largely held in contempt—certainly by Jesus and then by the disciples (later, apostles).
Once we get these details straight, we can then understand the backdrop framework into which Jesus proclaimed his Kingdom through "gospeling"—where—a "Gospel" was understood to be an official announcement of an ascending prince headed to being enthroned as a King. Such was Jesus as he walked this earth for the first time as the God-man, Emmanuel, God with us.
Both barrels—first century style!
We are now ready to deliver the death blow to unbelief in those who will hear and believe (repent and change their allegiance from darkness to Jesus in the light of his Kingdom)!
Our message will come with distinct purpose and in distinct stages that the Lord taught. See Matthew 10, Luke 9, Luke 10, and then also in Acts 1 (we will examine these at the bottom).
- - Proclaim Gospel
- - Demonstrate
- - ID Believers
- - Establish Believers
This is the basic pattern Jesus established for "preaching the Gospel" and the pattern followed by the apostles, and later, Paul. We will look later at the scriptural basis for this pattern as noted above. Before then, let's just explain each of the above items from the pattern.
Proclaim the Gospel
As disciples of Jesus, the Christ, we bear in us the very power of God in the person of the Spirit of God within us. He indwells us as his children and all that we are as royal family members. We are soldiers, ambassadors, servants, messengers, and a host of other roles as his own. As we stand before unbelievers, we are standing as all of these things, but especially a heralds, proclaimers, and ambassadors of the King and his Kingdom!
Therefore, we are to Proclaim the Gospel. It is an official matter that the King wants us to do. It is not only an announcement of the ascension and enthronement of Jesus, but of his suffering, resurrection, and a declaring that his power, resident in ourselves, is here in demonstration of his love, gentleness, care, grace, and mercy. Yet, that step is next on the list.
Demonstration of Power in Love
The proof and validation that our announcement of Jesus as King and the arrival of his Kingdom is true comes through a demonstration of the power of God residing in us to heal, deliver, and help. This is critical and why it is critical will be explained below as we add in the story of the Watchers and their demon kids, who harass and abuse human beings continually.
Identify those responding by Belief
With the Kingdom proclaimed and established and validated by the demonstration of the power of God to heal and deliver, people are going to respond. Some will deny it all. They will make up excuses to not believe what they hear and see. However, others will believe, which will draw them into repenting—that is—switching sides and coming out of blindness in darkness into the light of Christ. We need to identify those people and pull them aside.
Establishing Believers; Making Disciples
With the repenting believers lovingly culled from the group, we can now set about the wonderful task of building and forming Christ (making disciples) of those who have believed. Yet, they are not ready, but are in an embryonic state. They need to learn more about what Jesus is calling them to in his royal family. They need to fully understand the history of the Watchers, the rebellions of the Ages past, and a lot more of what is faced in the future (e.g. judgment, condemnation, and ultimate destruction).
Once these new believers have sufficient understanding, then they can take the next steps: Water baptism and Baptism in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, and so on. It is the ultimate step from being raw embryonic believers to being maturing disciples of Christ, ready to carry the Gospel themselves to others.
NOTE: The early church (first and second century) would spend as long as 1 to 3 years before baptizing people. It is true that such was done very quickly in the first years of the church (see Acts). But as the church matured, they discovered that taking people too quickly into matters of baptism by water and Spirit ultimately hurt them. Why?
To understand this, one needs to understand what baptism in water and Spirit is and the responsibilities of it that land on both those leading and those being baptized. The real issue has to do with how seriously the Lord Jesus as King takes the matter of loyalty to him and disavowal of loyal to pleasures, flesh, gods, and demon powers—Gentile paganism, whether we know it or not.
Therefore, the early church learned to slow down and train people so they more fully understood the serious and eternal nature of what they were embarking on, especially in the light of severe persecution, even martyrdom and death for the name of Christ the King!
Both barrels—21st century style!
Because of the rationalistic, supernatural-denials of the 21st century that we have been raised with in western civilization, we must first present the proper framing of the steps above.
We must teach modern people the ancient story of the Watchers!
We must first give them this story of the last 6,000 years in enough detail so they can see how the Gospel of Jesus as King and his Kingdom fits into the backstory. It is literally this story that will allow people to self-motive themselves into understanding their need of repenting, believing, and following as a disciple of Christ! This means they will be self-motivated in a way that doesn't require continual emotional brow-beating and pep-rally efforts to cajole them into Christ.
Naturally, the next question is: In an outreach setting, how does one convey the story? Does it have to be done right away or can it wait a little? What parts of the story does one relate in the beginning? It is a big story, what parts are the most important? Where does the leading of the Spirit of God come in? What part does that play or do we have a script? What about outreach materials to convey the story? Tracts? Pamphlets? Brochures? Books?
All of these are excellent questions!
Let's start with the most powerful of all: Waiting on the Holy Spirit to lead us in the moment with each person or group of people as he deems needed, where he gives the words in the moment. I agree! However, there is a point to be made:
You cannot fire Holy Spirit bullets from an unloaded gun.
The key to stepping into the arena is to come well armed, loaded, and ready to fire. Yes, and then, the Spirit of God can direct. However, that is not to say that other preparation and materials are not a good idea.
Some people involved in an outreach team will be in various stages of knowing the story and of differing skill of delivering that story. Therefore, having materials like brochures and pamphlets to hand out, use, and offer is a really good idea. And it may well be that such materials that describe the story plus deliver the Gospel and lead people into believing are very useful and appropriate. We ought never bar the gate to such things, but open it wide. It may be that giving out such materials is just what the Spirit of God will lead us to in certain cases.
NOTE: I have personally envisioned a series of "Chick-Tracts" that tell the story of the Watchers and the Gospel response in a comic book format that is easy to read and digest. The effectiveness of these little comic books is undeniable and the present themselves as another great way to present this message in a way that people can take with them. It may well be that for some people, it's just what the Spirit orders for them!
Pulling it together ...
An outreach that presents the proper story (Watchers and demon history) framework for the Gospel to rest within—and then—follows the pattern of Proclaiming, Demonstrating in love, Identifying believers, and Building them into the church of Christ as water and Spirit baptized disciples is critical to the mission we have been given!
Beyond this point will come the expansion of the story and a deep focus on what we are all preparing ourselves and others for: The Judgment Seat of Christ, where Watchers and demons will be destroyed forever, and people not loyal to Christ, but loyal to sin in the flesh and their Watcher masters will be destroyed along with them. NOT SO for those loyal to Jesus as King in love, grace, and mercy!
Meanwhile—back at the scriptures ...
Now, it is time to turn our attention to the scriptures mentioned at the start of this article: Matthew 10, Luke 9, Luke 10, and Acts 1.
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. ...
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Jesus first empowers them and then sends them out with instructions. There are details here that he gives beyond what I have presented above. These matters are certainly open for debate and inclusion. I have not included them because they seem peculiar to the situation that the disciples were in at the time. Perhaps they apply now, and that is certainly open for discussion and debate! However, what are the basics that Jesus gives as instruction?
- - Verse 7: Proclaim the Kingdom
- - Verse 8: Heal, Cleanse, Cast out (deliver people)
- - Verse 11: Determine worthiness (those who believe)
- - Verse 13: Stay and build believers (house that is worthy)
This is where I got my list written for you and discussed above. Now, let's move to other scripture:
1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Here we find Luke describing the same story as Matthew 10, but in a more abbreviated way. Yet, the same elements are present: Given power to heal and deliver, Proclaim the Gospel, Heal-Cleanse-Deliver, Identify Believers, Build them up, and move along to the next place.
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Again—the pattern is the same. It doesn't have to be in any particular order except that God responds to the proclaiming of the Gospel being near to people by healing, cleansing, and delivering them from demons (oppression and possession) as a demonstration of his love and power—binding Watchers and demons and loosing people who he loves and as sent us to be his hands and feet to save them.
Finally—there is the book of Acts.
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
In Peter's very long Pentecost sermon, he lays out the proclaiming of the Gospel (Jesus is Lord - that is King) and the Kingdom of God is established. The power of God is on display in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which Peter offers to them as the Promise of the Father. The entire pattern is present here in this story.
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
My hope is that by now you can see the pattern on full display. There is always a presentation of the Gospel, which is the proclaiming of King and Kingdom, and then a demonstration of Kingdom power in releasing people from the damage of the Watchers and demons: healing, cleansing, and delivering them. Finally, there is the identifying believers who respond and then starting on the process of making disciples, which is what Jesus commanded of the apostles).
PS: Our Catholic Friends
Very early on in this article, I made note of a list of people who readily took in a supernatural worldview, of which Catholics rank third on the list. What's really interesting is when you start to know and realize that there are Spirit-filled Catholics in the world, which can be very confusing until you simply relax and have some grace. These are human being whom the Lord Jesus loves. They easily absorb and take in the supernatural Watcher story backdrop, which can be a game changer for them.
Please realize that I get the Catholic-bashing arguments. I was raised on them. I've read every Chick-tract and comic book about how Catholics and the pope are evil. I get it. Truly, I do. However, I know plenty of Catholics that shy away from such things and reject projectile-protestants because all they seem to want to do is beat them to death as idolators—majoring in the minors.
Now—with that said: I am not asking anyone to accept the wholesale veneration of Mary or praying to the saints. What I am suggesting is that we be a little more open minded and have open hearts to talking to our Catholic family members to establish the supremacy of Christ as King in their lives, ensuring that above all else that their allegiance is given to Jesus. We also need to know that they understand the ancient war and how our common enemy in Watchers and demons works, which is the basis for our staunch rejection of icons and prayers to saints, prayers to and for the dead, indulgences, and so on.
I think we are going to be surprised by how many Catholics end up on the right side of the Judgment Seat of Christ on the Day of the Lord. All I am really asking is for us to have some grace and forbearance in Christ for our brothers and sisters in this human family.