NATIONAL HOLY SPIRIT CONFERENCE
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ACTION
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE EVANGELIST
SEMINAR TALK – 1985

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SYNOPSIS
This message defines the evangelist’s anointing and mission, highlighting the Holy
Spirit’s indispensable power for effective soul-winning and establishing the Kingdom.

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INTRODUCTION
Greetings.
Thanks be to God for bringing us thus far in this conference. We have been blessed by
the keenness of your mind and joy in the Holy Spirit. Am confident that ye shall leave this
conference blessed with faith, tools and weapons of war for the tasks of the Church. This
evening, we shall go to the altar of power for another Pentecost day experience, for
anointing of power for the Mission of the Church.
Going to the altar of power should be of special significance to a group of people in our
midst, the evangelists or the saints who see the hand of God on them for the ministry of
evangelism. The truth of the matter is that all of us have been called to witness of Christ
and win souls. And depending upon our obedience, diligence and faithfulness, the Spirit
of God will move mightily on us to bring men into the Kingdom.
However, as we have learnt, the office of an evangelist is different from evangelism as
such. Like the office of the apostle and to some extent the prophet, the evangelist is a
traveling ministry, a gift of man unto the Body at large and not the local Church as is the
pastor. The evangelist is a soldier among soldiers called after the ministry of Jesus Christ
to –
• Preach the good tidings to the poor
• Proclaim liberty to the captives
• Heal the broken-hearted
• Deliver those bound
• Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Is. 61:1-2)
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach
good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that
mourn.”
That is to say, although evangelism pertains essentially to the winning of souls, the
evangelist’s ministry involves preaching, teaching, healing and deliverance. Whilst the
apostolic office involves the opening of churches, training and equipping men into
various offices for the mission of the Church. The evangelist is a specialist in salvation,
healing and deliverance and to a large extent, spiritual battle. In the local church, the
evangelist is a revivalist, preaching, teaching, sweeping, cleaning and helping to
establish the faith. Otherwise, he can lead evangelistic crusade missions to add to the
Church such as should be saved.
In this connection, it might perhaps be worthwhile to mention briefly in passing that
ministries and churches are not built on gifts of the Holy Spirit. Gifts of the Holy Spirit are
essentially for the edification of the Church, mainly at the local level though local may
extend from congregation, district and perhaps even national level. That is, if every
church or congregation is waling with, in or under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the
various gifts of the Holy Spirit will operate for the full edification of the Church. Apostles,
Prophets, Evangelists and Teachers might be sent but not “miracle workers”, healers,
helps, government, etc. the men in the five-fold ministry each has a special endowment
of power or anointing in consonance with the requirement of their calling. One cannot
therefore establish miracles, healing or deliverance ministry, church or fellowship as
distinct from the apostles, prophetic or evangelist’s ministry.
On the other hand, as evangelist, we should avoid the temptation to turn our evangelistic
ministry into healing charters, miracle working machines, or deliverance missions.
Again, evangelists should avoid the temptation of opening church/churches and convert
themselves into pastors or apostles for that matter. Albeit as directed by the Holy Spirit,
and not our minds, however holy or compelling the desire appears to be. Beloved, let us
not become our own masters. Let us not copy people. That is why God has given us the
Holy Spirit for teaching, guidance and direction. Each person, each man of God is unique
in his calling, though there might be similarities because all of us are called and granted
gifts by the self-same Spirit. To be sure, there might be combination of ministries such as
was with Stephen and Philip (Acts 6:5-10; 8:5-8). There might be some who are both
pastors and teachers, evangelists and pastors. Consider Ephesians 4:11 and 1st
Corinthians 12:28-30. They can do both admirably. Nonetheless, let us give Him the Holy
Spirit chance to administer and direct operation of the gifts and ministry. Lest we become
Balaam and fornicators with the spirit of worldliness, human wisdom and pleasure. But
be it as it may, let us not declare ourselves apostles, prophets, evangelists or pastors
outside Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Now, evangelism is a mission of
• The harvesting of souls
• The building of the Kingdom of God in the hearts of men, in society or a nation (cf.
the apostolic Mission of Paul – Acts 26:16-18) is in harmony with Jesus and the
Church’s mission in Isaiah 61:4, and the evangelists in Isaiah 52:7,
“And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they
shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations”. (Isaiah 61:4)
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that
publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith
unto Zion, Thy God reigneth”. (Isaiah 52:7)
The evangelist’s ministry demands a divine passion for souls, compassion for the poor,
afflicted and the oppressed. a burden for the gospel and the glory of God in the world.
God places in or on the heart of the evangelist a burden for the lost and perishing. Jesus
as a typical evangelist speaks thus:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to
the poor. He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to
preach the acceptable year of the Lord “(Luke 4:1-19).
(The Spirit is upon Me…. The divine commission involves the divine burden and
compassion for the lost and perishing, the dead and dying, the suffering and oppressed).
The Spirit upon Me also indicates a spirit of prophecy
• Luke 19:10 – “a burden”, consider Paul’s burden in 1st cor. 9:16
• John 4:34 – a commitment (a heart sold out for God, His purposes and glory)
in short, the ministry of the evangelist demands not only the burden of God for the lost
and perishing and for His Glory in the world, but also the mind of Christ. The
achievement of this fundamental requirement is based wholly and entirely on the
anointing of the Holy Spirit upon and the faith, obedience and commitment of the
evangelist. Jesus said in this connection in John 5:30, “I can of mine own self do nothing,
as I hear, I judge and my judgement is just: because I seek not mine own will, but the will
of the Father which hath sent me”
John 7:16-18 “Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent
me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or
whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself sleekest his own glory, but he that
sleekest his glory that sent him, the same is true, and not unrighteousness is in him”.
That is to say, the evangelist needs to reach or attain a certain state of spiritual mind
which is only possible through the working of the Holy Spirit upon him. In that case, his
preaching shall not be according to men’s knowledge and wisdom but demonstration of
the HOLY SPIRIT in action and the divine power that breaks through.
Thus, we learn from Jesus and Paul that the evangelist needs to stand in a spiritual
position of a consummate burden which is above the natural human concern for and
identification with the neighbour. Yea, he must be under divine compulsion, such as
transcends his own natural inclinations, weakness and frailties. Paul had a compulsive
drive to preach the Gospel… His life had no meaning outside the mission. Philip did not
need to be persuaded to leave Samaria, where the ministry was growing big and great
things were happening (Acts 8:14-15, 26-40}. The Spirit of the Lord caught Philip, and he
was found in Azotus, preaching in all Caesarea. The evangelist is a traveler, God’s moving
machine.
If God places such a heavy heavenly and compulsive burden upon one’s heart, it would
of certainty be accompanied by not only the grace to run the race and fight the battle
involved. He will grant the spiritual authority, power, weapons and material things
necessary for His work. Paul had a free ride as a prisoner to Rome (Acts 23:11; 25:11;
26:32; 27:1; 28:16-31). Philip needed not a shuttle for space travel. Elijah had widows,
ravens and angels feeding him. Hallelujah.
The Evangelist’s calling is a unique calling requiring a deep degree of walking with God,
the Holy Spirit for knowledge of the works of the devil, and for heavy anointing of the
power of salvation. John 16:7-8 teaches that it is the Holy Spirit that does the work of
salvation. He not only directs the ministry. He gives the messages and the requisite
firepower that will open the prison doors, scatter the forces of darkness that are holding
the people in bondage and captivity, including ignorance, unbelief and religious spirits.
Paul says in 1st Corinthian 2:1-5, 13,
“And I brethren when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom
declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among
you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear,
and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God which things also we speak not in
the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing
spiritual things with spiritual”. The preaching is of the SPIRIT.
However, as we learnt yesterday, preaching is essentially the work of the human mind
upon which the Holy Spirit works to bring forth the message. Yet, it is the WORD anointed
of the Holy Spirit that breaks the yoke. Accordingly, the preacher needs to study and
know the word, so the Holy Spirit can tap the word resource, the seed of faith to bring
forth children unto God.
If the word resource is full and the anointing heavy, what is required next is direction. By
direction, I am not referring alone to the content of the message, I am referring also to
geographical, institutional and time dimensions in operations. The ministries of Peter,
Philip and Paul gave us clear indication as to the daily directions, possible with that
blessed fellowship and obedience to the Holy Spirit. (Peter – Acts 10 obedience to all
mission calls and message; Philip – Acts 8:26-35 and Paul – Acts 16:9. What are the
lessons? – obedience to mission call, content of message and traveling instructions. A
meaningful and deep relationship between the servant of God and the Holy Spirit is very
crucial and critical for effective and fulfilling ministry.
Jesus said: “I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruits, for without me, ye can do noting” John 15:5.
In conclusion, the evangelist is called into a ministry of a wide and deep dimension after
Jesus Christ, the winning of souls and building the Kingdom of God being central. To be
effective, the evangelist not only needs to know the word of God, which is his message as
well as weapon resources, he must of necessity learn how to walk with the Holy Spirit.
He needs to learn how to submit his mind to the Holy Spirit so his preaching should have
the desired effect in the conversion of souls, opening of eyes and setting captives free.
In this connection, it is the Father’s desire not only to place upon him His burden for souls
but also fill him with the Holy Spirit so he can walk in the paths of Christ, serving the world
and destroying the works of the devil. With Christ, the evangelist walks before both men
and spirits. His life must not be having a mind of his own or desire for his glory. His meat
is to do the will of the Lord and master, to bring to fruition the finished work of Christ, and
to establish the Kingdom of God or open reality.
The evangelist needs a higher love both for God and mankind. The Holy Spirit will fulfill
God’s desire with regard to the filling, the message, the convicting power for harvest, the
direction and supplies of grace, weapons, authority and power and material needs, as
also the protection and peace and joy in Him the Holy spirit who keeps the servants of
God going with anointing of power, strength, protection, material supplies and joy in Him
– 2
nd Tim. 4:1-5.
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick
and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word; be instant in season,
out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from
the truth and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions,
do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
I charge these therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick
and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom.
Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine. But watch out in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of
evangelist, make full proof of the ministry.
AMEN!