School of

Evangelism
Online

TRANSCRIPT: WILL GRAHAM INTRODUCES “HOW TO

DELIVER AN EVANGELISTIC MESSAGE”

Will Graham: Welcome back. In our last session, we saw how to prepare an
evangelistic message. In this lesson, we're going to see how we can effectively
deliver this evangelistic message. The effective delivery of an evangelistic
message is just as important as the preparation.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter one, verse five, Paul shares three things that are
necessary to having an effective evangelistic message. It says, "For our gospel
did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and
in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for
your sake" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). First, let's talk about the content. The content
is the Word of God. We talk about the content of the Gospel in our first course.
The content is from the Word of God. It presents the Good News concerning
the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf. We
need to preach the Word of God.

There's a lot of times in life when preachers want to get off, and talk, and start
preaching from the wrong things. We preach the Word of God. We should
always use the Bible as our text.

Second, Paul talked about the conviction. It says there, "But also in power, and
in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). The power is in
the Gospel. It's not in us. There's nothing that we can do to save people. The
Bible says in Romans chapter one, verse 16, "For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to [the] salvation [of] everyone who
believes" (Romans 1:16). It is the Word of God that does the work. There's
nothing in us that can save anybody. That's why we preach the Word of God.
And as we preach the Word of God, we need to be full of the Holy Spirit. As He

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke
and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. 1
2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)
fills us and uses us, He also is convincing the people the validity of the
message.

The Bible says in John chapter 16, verse eight, "And when he is come, he will
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8,
KJV). That's the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible also says there, "In much
assurance" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). In other words, we need to preach with
conviction. We need to preach it like you believe it. It's the most important
message that can ever be preached, and we need to preach as if we're
preaching the most important message.

Third, the character. The Bible says, "[And] you know what kind of men we
were among you for your sake" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). The Gospel is most
effective when it is delivered from a holy vessel. Our character adds authority
to the message. And so, make sure in your own personal life that your prayer
life is current. Make sure that your sins are confessed. Make sure that you're
filled with the Holy Spirit.

As these three things come together—the content, which is the Word of God;
the conviction of the messenger; and the character of the messenger—when
all these three things come together, then we will have an effective
evangelistic message. In the late 1940s, my grandfather went to Forest Homes,
California. While he was there, a lot of people were questioning the Word of
God.

These people were having an influence on my granddaddy. And so, my

granddaddy went out one day, went into the woods, and laid the Bible on a
stump as he was trying to wrestle with these questions that some of his
friends were dealing with: Is the Word of God true? Do we preach other
things? And so, my granddaddy, he placed a Bible there, and he just prayed.
And after praying, God just laid it on his heart to preach the Bible and to preach
it only. After that, my granddaddy said—he said, "I didn't understand
everything that was in the Bible, but I accept it by faith."

From then on, my granddaddy only preached the Bible. Soon after that, he left
to go to Los Angeles, where in 1949, my granddaddy had a very successful
Crusade, which basically launched his national prominence. It was because, I
believe, that he had decided in his heart to preach the Word of God, to preach

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke
and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. 2
2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)
it with conviction, and to live a godly life that would validate the message he
is preaching.

©BGEA. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New
King James Version. ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. Scripture quotation marked KJV is taken from the King James Version.

Last modified: 3/20/2020 4:59 PM

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke
and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. 3
2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)