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FINLEY EVANGELISTIC FIELD SCHOOL

THREE ELEMENTS WHICH ARE REQUIRED IN PREACHING ~ 24.05.07

Mark Finley
• LOGOS –
o This is the content of what you preach

• PATHOS –
o This is the passion which you preach with
o You need to believe what you are preaching about
o Need to believe that whenever you preach that there will be someone who will be
touched by the Holy Spirit
o The believability of the sermon within your life
o You need to have a passion within your soul for people
• ETHOS –
o This is who you are as a person
o This is the personality of the preacher
o Do you connect, do you have warmth for the people

FOLLOW UP AFTER PROGRAMS:

• It is important after each program to meet the people at the door, this is where you connect and
build relationships
• After the first 3-4 programs when you meet the people at the door, have a notebook and begin to set
up appointments at the hall half an hour apart, this saves you time instead of needing to meet people
in their homes

THEOLOGY OF VISITATION
• Acts 20:20 – proclamation and home visitation the two both go together.
• These people shared food together
• Gal 2:2 – the importance of visitation
• See Ellen G. White, EV 463

EVNGELISTIC VISITATION
• During the first week we should not focus on visiting in peoples homes, this will scare them off

THREE GROUPS OF PEOPLE TO FOCUS ON WITH VISITATION

o Any regular interest that promised that they would come, and did not come:
ƒ Follow up these people within the first week
ƒ Give them an excuse for not coming
ƒ Give them a schedule of the upcoming programs
ƒ Offer to take them or bring them to the programs, if need be
o Any interests at all that did not come:
ƒ Bible study and youth contacts that are not baptised
ƒ Ask yourself the question, “Who are my ripest fruit?”
ƒ “You win the winnable while they are winnable, otherwise you don’t win them.”
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ƒAnalyse your church, who can you work with to invite etc. What young people
in my church could begin to prepare for baptisms shortly
ƒ Are there former Adventists who are coming to church or spouses of Adventists
that are coming to church that are not baptised
ƒ Focus on those who are the most winnable early/now
o Plan baptisms strategically. Because when these new people come they will see baptism
as a way of life, even before you may have covered the topic of baptism
o Need to plan with your church board for regular baptisms

RESPONSE CARDS
• When we preach on the topic of Jesus, tell them why and what you are going to do. Be clear and
alert them in advance
• Tell them why you are giving them the response cards
o Say it gives me an opportunity to know whether this topic was clear
o You may want to accept Jesus, so this is a purpose for the card
Next week we will have a question time and you may want to write questions on the back of the
response cards, this gives an opportunity for you to have them answered

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF EVANGELISM ~ Mark Finley, 25.04.07

• Every great soul winner has a passion for souls, it is not so much the programs etc, it is your
passion for the lost.

WHY EVANGELISM: SEVEN REASONS:

• The Passion of God’s Heart:
o God had only one Son, and He sent Him to this world to evangelise
o There is no time that God is not thinking about winning lost people
o Why evangelism? Because it is God’s means of winning people to Him.
o See Luke 19:10
o Jesus has come to seek and to save. People will not be saved unless they are sought.
o Evangelism beats in the heart and the mind of ever great soul winner
o The narrow view of Christianity is to give up bad things and save our family. In Heaven
Jesus gave up good things so that others could be saved. Jesus did not give up the bad,
He gave up the good. Jesus left the warmth of those who loved Him to face the scorn of
those who hated Him
o Christianity is then about often giving up the good things so that other people can be
saved. Christianity calls for us to give up good things not just the bad
o Matt 4:19, Followers of Jesus become the fisher’s of men
o Soul Winning is not a cognitive experience. Soul winners are made and created. There
is something that happens in their heart.
o If you have a passion for evangelism and souls, then your church will grow. Don’t
allow the obstacles to keep you from seeing the possibilities

• God’s Way of Reaching God’s People:

o If I believe that God is going to save people through the Holy Spirit alone then why do
evangelism? Or do I really sense that there will be lost people unless I evangelise
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o In the sovereignty of God, He will work I the hearts and minds of people who have no
other opportunity
o The reason that we preach is that we give people the best chance to be saved. The best
chance to be saved is to understand the will of God as revealed in Scripture.
o Rom 1, the Gentiles are lost. Rom 2, the Jews are lost. Rom 3, the whole world is lost,
Rom 4 & 5, men and women are saved by justification in Christ by faith, Rom 6
Sanctified by faith, Rom 7 & 8, indwelling of the Spirit, Rom 10 focuses on salvation
and how men are saved. Rom 10:13 to be saved you must call on the name of the Lord.
You need to hear, how can people hear unless someone is sent?
o People are saved through the grace of Christ by the proclamation of the gospel
o Do you expect people to make a decision every time you preach? Unless you preach as
though you expect someone to make a decision at that time, and that somebody is going
to have their life change then. Now is the judgement of this world Jesus meant that
people were making decisions every time he preached that had eternal consequences.
o Preaching is all about giving people hope and encouragement

• Without Evangelism, there is a Cancer of the Spirit, and a Retardation of Spiritual Growth:
o You cannot grow spiritually if you simply read the Bible and pray
o The Pharisees read the Bible and prayed every day and yet they were spiritually dead
o As we share the testimony of our faith with others we become stronger
o Acts 20:35, “its more blessed to give than to receive,” this is not necessarily about
giving money, its giving spiritually, and you gain a blessing when you give
o Revelation 12:11,
o As the church becomes active for Jesus, something happens within the church.
Churches that are not working for Christ become spiritually dead.
o The prime need is the power of the living Christ, where religion becomes real. The
genuine article.
o When church members get the taste of soul winning, they cannot be the same again.
They have a passion for souls.
o When you teach your lay people how to give Bible studies they grow spiritually in ways
in which they would not otherwise.
o John 21, Peter has denied Jesus 3 times, and now Jesus is rebuilding a man. Vs 15,
Jesus asks Peter if He loves Him more than these. agape love does not depend on the
reaction of the one being loved (divine unselfish love). Peter responds but never uses
the word agape, He uses the word phileo love (a human bonded ness) I have a strong
brotherly love, the second time Peter says I phileo you again, he will never use the
agape word that Christ uses. The third time Christ uses the word phileo, Peter says you
know that I love you. Jesus says I know that you don’t love me with the same divine
love that I love you with. Your love comes through the weak limited human love. Jesus
is saying to Peter go work for Me in your limited love, and as you work, then you will
develop His divine unselfish love.
o To overcome needs that we need to be drawn out of ourselves. We need to become
intensely interested in the salvation of others. This leads us to grow spiritually.
o You need to teach by example. Your people are not going to do anything that you won’t
do. Do your members see that modelled in your own life
o What turned Wilkinson’s church around was when he committed two nights per week to
soul winning. If you want to turn your church totally around, take two nights a week to
win the lost. Take an elder or a deacon with you. Talk to them personally and ask them
to go with you.
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o Don’t worry initially about starting big, when you go to a new church. Begin to pray on
our knees. Reveal to us who the thought leaders are in the church that we can inculcate
with evangelism principles that can help raise this church. Reveal to us the thought
leaders and who will help in raising the church. Bring them to me so that I can train
them, and please help me train them.
o Begin to dream in your mind and vision in your heart how you can change our church.
Bring people with you and reach out in that way. As ministers we are thought changers.

THREE ASPECTS OF DEVELOPING AN EVANGELISTIC CULTURE IN YOUR CHURCH:

Mark Finley ~ 26.04.07

• A Church Growth Conscience:

o The conscience is the still small voice within you that tells you what you should and
shouldn’t do etc.
o Conscience lets you know that you are not in harmony with the will of God
o A church growth conscience tells churches corporately that if they are not their for
mission then they are not in God’s will
o 1 Tim 2:2. If my church is not growing then we are outside of God’s will. God desires
for all people to come to a knowledge of God
o 2 Pet 3:9, Church growth culture develops as they develop a church growth conscience.
God doesn’t want any to perish.
o A church board agenda should always begin with mission and evangelistic activities.
Read the mission statement. Do you begin every board meeting with at least 30 minutes
on mission?
o Board meeting minutes of non-growing churches reflect what is consuming them in their
church.
o Where are the money and resources, begin spent in the church? Inwardly or outwardly.
o A church grow the conscience is a growing awareness that if they fail to reach out into
the community they are not in the will of God.
o Do you have soul winning on your mind
o Meet for breakfast and pray about the vision of your church with your thought leaders
and it will flow onto them

• Church Growth Eyes:

o Jesus looked at the woman at the well with church growth eyes, and the centurion’s
servant etc.
o The ability to see people all over the place that are interested
o Look at people as winnable.
o Jesus enables us to see people clearly see story in Mark with man seeing people as trees,
Jesus then gives us church growth vision

• What is Your Vision of Your Congregation:

o How do you view your congregation? Do you see yourself as the person who has to
motivate and inspire the lay members? We need a paradigm shift in how we view others
and ourself and our role. The old view is that they are complacent and not interested in
being motivated. The new way is that when you stand in the pulpit you are looking at
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the body of Christ. You need to help them discover their gifts and help them to see their
gifts.
o 1 Cor 12:4, Differences of gifts but the same spirit, differences of ministries but the
same Lord. Diversities of activities but the same God
ƒ A gift is a divinely given quality
ƒ A Ministry is a spirit inspired action to service
ƒ An activity is a spirit directed action in service
o We need to see that God has given every member gifts for service. Therefore we should
never organise a church around spiritual gifts. Rather organise your church around
ministries which then become vehicles for service. Ministries find focus in activities out
in the community.
o The church is the body of Christ discovering their gifts, equipped to serve, and reaching
out into the community
o The only reason that your church exists is for mission. This needs to fill our mind. That
every member has been redeemed by Christ to redeem. When this fills your mind then
your focus changes.
o Ask Questions:
ƒ Where is our priority as a church board
ƒ What are we doing to create a spiritual renewal?
ƒ What equipping and training do we have this year to equip and train our
members?
ƒ What kind of ministries will you equip and release your people into for
activities?
o What we want to do more than anything else in the church is to create a culture of
evangelism in our church

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY MARK FINLEY:

What if there is theological controversy in your church, how do you reach out into the community?
• Pray that the Lord will if necessary move those people away
• If I can help these people to change then help me to change.
• Go and sit down with those people and tell them that there is a great deal that we are quite different
about. But we have some things that we are in common about I.e., passion to win the lost. I want
to be able to launch an evangelistic series in the community, and in areas that we don’t agree on can
you keep quite on
• Don’t allow theological differences from keeping me from winning the lost
• Talk about the thing which we have in common, not the differences

Mark Finley’s View of the Differences in the SDA Church in the 20’s and 30’s Compared with
What the SDA Church is Today:
• Mark used to view Adventism as linear. A sliding scale 1-10 etc. You can be a liberal or
conservative and still be a linear Adventism. Point of conversion is 1 image of Jesus is 10.
• The linear view says that based on external standards you judge them on a set line, a linear
progression on a move of sanctification. There are problems with this view. It judges people more
based on externals.
• This view either creates depression or pride
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• The other view of Adventism is dramatically different. It sees people with new eyes. There are
boundaries because without boundaries you can’t define an Adventist. The outer level are what we
call eternal verities/truths (This is a circle), the Bible, Accepting Christ which is at the centre, the
state of the dead, the Sabbath etc. This is the outer ring. The mutually agreed doctrines that the
worldwide church accepts. How you keep the Sabbath may differ but you are both inside the circle,
because they accept the outer core of doctrine and they are still moving towards Christ. If you
accept this outer basic core and if we are moving towards Christ together then even though we may
have different practices then we are still moving towards Christ together.

There should be no standards for fellowship, Biblical standards for membership, and higher standards
for leadership

FIVE KEYS FOR SUCCESSFUL EVANGELISM

Ernestine Finley (From, “Light Your World for God”, Chapter 1, pg 8)

• A method will change from country to country. Where as a principle is universal and does not
change.

#1 REVIVAL:
• Churches grow when there is genuine spiritual revival in the church. Acts 1:8
• The disciples shared a Christ that they knew. They proclaimed a Christ that they had experienced,
and they witnessed of a Christ who had changed them personally.
• See Steps to Christ p. 78. “The saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart.”
• When there is a spiritual revival people will go to work

Three Ways to Experience Revival:

o Renewed Emphasis on Bible Study and the Spirit of Prophecy:
ƒ We need to do it God’s way
ƒ Testimonies to Ministers pg 113. Need to understand the Bible

o Renewed Emphasis on Intercessory Prayer:

ƒ Prayer changes lives
ƒ We need the power of the Holy Spirit
ƒ Intercessory prayer is powerful

o Renewed Emphasis on Witnessing:

ƒ We need to get the people to work for Christ
ƒ Steps to Christ pg, 80.
• Christians cannot live without Bible study, prayer and witnessing.
• What are we doing in our churches to change them to create an atmosphere for spiritual revival?

#2 TRAINING AND EQUIPPING:

• Public evangelism does not work with the first and second keys. Spiritual revival and training and
equipping.
• Prayer walks. Have people stop and pray at streets for the people who live in the homes.
• Book marks for people to write contacts who they can pray for.
• Pray for 40 days in prayer prior to your meetings. Study the 40 days in Scripture.
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• Churches grow when each member is trained and equipped.
• Eph 4:11, 12, the spiritual gifts ‘pastors and teachers’ kai is a connecter. Pastors are to equip
members to build up the church and to edify the body of Christ
• Need to set up a system that will take care of their spiritual gifts
• Ministry of Healing pg 149. People need to be instructed and encouraged
• “Every church should be a training school for Christian workers. Its members should be taught
how to give Bible readings. How to conduct and teach Sabbath school classes, how best to help the
poor and to care for the sick, and how to work for the unconverted. There should be schools of
health, cooking schools, classes in various lines of Christian help work” MH 149.
• There should not only be instruction but actual leading by example
• GW 197, 198. Need to give more attention not getting and keeping workers actively involved in
work
• We will be ten times more effective if we train our members Ev. 474.
• Church members are not being trained or equipped. We add from what we are doing but we are not
multiplying things because we are not duplicating workers.
Organizing Ministries:
o Bible study ministries
o Literature ministries
o Home group ministry
o Visitation ministry – every former and inactive members, bake a loaf of bread etc
o Health ministry etc
• 1 Cor 12:4-6. There are gifts, there are ministries and there are activities. There is the gift of
cooking, there is the ministry of health ministry and there is the activity of a cooking school
• If we set up the ministry and the activity the person will use their gifts. The gifts come after we set
up the ministry and activity
• Even in Bible study ministry, you need the activity, i.e., having them go out on Bible studies.
• Ministry of Bible study, the activity of actually giving a Bible study
• What is our church doing to help each member discover their gifts and equip each member for
ministry
• 1 Cor 12:4-6, gifts, ministries, and activities.
• Churches grow when there is a planned process of activity. The church should be a beehive of
activity.

#3 COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
• Matt 4:23, Jesus went about teaching, preaching and healing
• We will have success in reaching the needs of the people as we follow the Saviour’s example and
methods.
• MH 143, “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour
mingled with people as one who desired their good. He showed sympathy for them, ministered to
their needs, won their confidence and then He bade them, ‘Come follow Me.’”
• Jesus lovingly met people’s felt needs
• Ev 516. Medical missionary work gives opportunity for carrying forward successful evangelism
work.
• You cant depend on a handbill, you need to have done a preparatory work
• If you want to have a harvest it is necessary to sow the seed. Therefore let’s look at some
principles of community outreach.
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o The narrow few principle:
ƒ The narrower your program base the fewer the results
ƒ The broader the program the bigger the results
o The pathway principle:
ƒ All of the programs are pathways which lead to the church
ƒ Each program is a pathway into the community inviting people to come to the
church
o Felt-needs principle:
ƒ Over 50% of Australians are overweight or obese
ƒ Look at what is needed in your community
ƒ Broad based community programs prepare the community for evangelism

#4 REAPING PUBLIC EVANGELISTIC MEETINGS:

• Try to contact three times whatever your active membership is each year, in community members,
and your church will grow
• Develop an active interest file
• God blesses the prayers we offer the visits we make the literature we distribute, the Bible studies
we give, the health programs which we run, and t evangelistic meetings which we run.
• Sometimes we want to finish the work without work. We need to have done the first three keys
before we attempt key #4, public evangelism.
• Churches grow when God’s word is preached through evangelistic proclamation.
• The New Testament church placed their emphasis on public evangelism. See Acts 8:4.
• Churches grow when the calendar year is organised around specific reaping events
• We need to plan evangelistic events and reaping events
• Public evangelism is a reaping event
• Churches grow when there is an understanding of the primacy of evangelism by pastors,
administrators, lay people and youth within the Adventist church today.
• The work will never be finished until the pastors clasp hands with the lay people
• Expect miracles. They will happen as you step out in faith!

#5 NURTURE AND FOLLOW UP:

• Nurture and follow up are twice as important as preparation work
• Growing churches nurture their new believers
• Evangelism is incomplete without a comprehensive strategy to nurture and keep new converts
• Disciple making is a process resulting from systematic nurture of new converts. Baptism is the
beginning of the spiritual journey, therefore nurture is an imperative if new converts are to grow
• Nurture is the responsibility of not only the pastor but also the church. See Ev 351. The zeal of
many ministers seems to fail as soon as they see a measure of their success. The pastor needs to
nurse the members, they need to be cared for and helped. They need to be educated in regard to
their duties, and kindly dealt with as they are led along.
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ELEMENTS OF NEW TESTAMENT NURTURE:

Vibrant Devotional Life:

• Acts 4:13, 31
Educate New Believers on How to Grow Spiritually:
o Yearly devotional book. Give to new members (Solid Ground, by Mark Finley)
o Share with them how to have a devotional life:
ƒ Teach them the A.C.T.S model of prayer (Adoration, Confession, Repentance,
Thanks and Supplication – interceding etc).
ƒ EV 343, “It is not God’s purpose that the church will be sustained by life drawn
from the minister. They are to have root in themself, the gospel truth, the third
angels’ message…”
ƒ Read a text and pray together. The devil is after our families

Repeat the Biblical Message a Second Time:

o Invite them to a small group
o Don’t assume that they fully understand the message. They may understand enough to
be baptised but they still don’t know or understand everything about the message
o EV 334, After the first efforts have been made in a place…there is really a greater
necessity for a second course than the first…the truth is new and startling, and they
need the same truth presented a second time, to get the points fixed in the mind
o We need to conduct a second evangelistic series.
o Discover Jesus (A series by Mark Finley)

How to Have a Better Lifestyle:

o Ev 343, Ministers frequently neglect this area of the work, health reform, spiritual gifts,
benevolence etc.
o God didn’t give us health reform to restrict us, but so that we can live longer
o Have a cooking school at the end of a series
o Conduct an eight week series, “Eight Weeks to Wellness,” program. (See Sibilla
Johnsson)
o Have a health expo (See Sibilla Johnsson). Have a health expo, and right after that
each night run an evangelistic series.
o Health Expo:
ƒ Have eight stations/booths on the eight natural remedies
ƒ Nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, air, rest, temperance, and trust in divine
power. Have someone in each booth. Have banners (See Weimer etc) at each
station, take blood pressure. In the ‘Trust in Divine power’ booth, have all of
your hand bills for your programs

Home Fellowship:
o Many new converts are lost because they are not visited.
o Organise visitation teams to visit the new converts
o Ev 440, if the pastor neglects this work of visiting the people in their homes, then he is
an unfaithful shepherd.
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Implementing a Visitation Program:
ƒ E. G. White, Letter 229, Patriarchs and Prophets, and Great Controversy are
good books that are especially adapted for those who have recently come to the
faith so that they can be established in the truth.
ƒ Have something to give out to new members regularly, perhaps once each
month.
ƒ During the campaign they are visited regularly, but when they join the church
this often drops off and they feel as though they have been let down etc, which
can lead to apostasy.

Implement a Spiritual Guardian Plan:

o Assign each new member a spiritual guardian.
o Find church members with like interests and a similar back ground, gender and age etc.
o Ev 352, “in Christ we are all members of one family. God is our Father and He expects
us to take an interest in the members of our household. Not a casual interest but a
decided continual interest.”
o God is going to ask us in the kingdom whether we were faithful or not?
o Be a friend not a policeman. Be a mentor to them, pray for them and with them.
o Invite them over for a meal.
o Do something social together to build a deeper friendship

Deal Tenderly, Kindly, and Patiently with People:

o Most apostatise occur not over doctrinal reasons but over some other conflict.
o Now is the time to help them if they slip back and fall into smoking etc.
o EV 351, “Those who have newly come to the faith should be patiently and tenderly
dealt with.”

Integrate them into the Social Network of the Church:

o Social events help to build and solidify relationships.

Integrate the New Believer into Corporate Worship and Praise:

o Ps 95:6, 7. We are counselled to come to God’s house to worship
o New believers grow as they come to God’s house
o Heb 10:25, “Don’t forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some,
and encouraging one another more and more as we see the Day approaching.”
o Isa 66:23, we will be worshipping with God on every Sabbath so why not start now.
Sabbath worship is important.

o Importance of Corporate Worship:

ƒ Eph 5:19, 20, to praise God
ƒ Acts 14:34, to hear the word of God
ƒ Heb 2:12, importance of singing
ƒ Acts 16:13, taking time to pray

To Report All that God Has Done:

o Have time in the service to report what members have done
o Acts 14:27, “To encourage one another into good works”
o EV 348, Sabbath meetings can be of the nature of a Bible study class
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Involvement and Witness:
o Educate new members in witness
o Soul winning work drives an individual to their knees.

Invite New Members to be Part of a Witnessing Group:

o EV 355, get new believers involved in various ministries
o EV 356, the best medicine is not preaching or sermonizing but planning work for them.
If set to work the despondent would soon forget their despondency…”

Fellowship House to House:

• Acts 2:42
• They didn’t break away from the church, they didn’t apostatise

Corporate Worship and Praise:

• Acts 2:42, Worshipping in the Temple, Biblical preaching and praise. You can’t worship God just
as well by staying at home.

Involvement and Witness:

• Acts 6:7; 8:4. The converts preached the word. It is the responsibility of the church for new
converts to

How to Keep Apostasies Down:

• Carefully Planned Process of Aftercare to Nurture Converts:

• Measure of Tolerance for their Mistakes:

• An Oganised Visitation Program Set in Motion Immediately after Baptism:

• A Conscious Effort to Integrate them into the Social Network of the Church:

• A Process of How to Live a Seventh-day Adventist Lifestyle:

GRAPHICS IN PREACHING AND EVANGELISM:

Mark Finley 26.04.07

• 4 sources of art in North America, Review and Herald, Pacific Press, Nathan Green, Lars Justinien
Group, Narrow Gate Media, Stock Footage which can be used free
• Every picture that is owned is copy righted
• You can purchase an art package from the presses to use for evangelism
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Mark Finley, 26.04.07
• Meet people at the door and try and bond with them
• Ways of bonding with people at the meetings:
o Mark will let people know that there is pastor’s there to help answer questions etc:
o Questions to ask:
ƒ Non threatening questions leave people open
• Don’t ask questions that call for a yes or no answer. Don’t ask what do
you think about the Sabbath? etc. Ask questions that keep them open so
that you can see what direction the Holy Spirit is working.
• Pick out the young couples that you think are non-Adventists, family unit
groups etc that you have a soul winning sense about
• Ask three of four questions:
o How did you happen to learn about the meetings? If a friend
invited them typically it is an Adventist. Tells us how they
learned about the meetings
o Is this the first time you have ever attended meetings like this
before?
o As you come to the meetings you may have some questions. Are
there any questions that have popped into your head right now?
You know there are many people coming out of the meetings
right now, can I see you further at 4:30pm etc and we can spend
about half an hour together etc? (Don’t ask them what time is
okay, because it may not be good for you. You tell them when
you are available). Try and piggy back your appointments either
before or after the programs at the hall.
• Sense of humour is good but you need to be able to pull it off
• Is the Sabbath new to you? Is this the first time you ever heard a sermon
pr topic on this before?
•
• Questions are a good way of learning about people. Jesus asked lots of
questions.
ƒ Threatening questions lead people closed, hostile and angry.

VISITATION:
Mark Finley, 02.05.07
• Acts 20:20 – Paul taught people publicly combined with the house to house ministry.
• EV 430, After the people have heard the reasons for our faith, let the house to house ministry begin
• Observe people’s behaviour, often the first excuse is not the reason at all, often what they say the
barrier or issue is, is not the real problem, there is a deeper underlying issue. It may be useful to
ask if there is anything else in their life that is keeping them from the meetings, rather than what
they tell you is their objection.
• In the home is where you answer their arguments and objections
• The critical meetings are numbers 5-10, because theses are prior to the ones on the Sabbath #11-13.
• It is the ability of being able to visit the contacts and get into their homes early, which will set the
tone for the remainder of the meetings.
• Need to visit with the people twice in their homes before the Sabbath topics are covered
• 60-70% of those who finish the series will make some kind of decisions.
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Visitation Priorities:
1. Develop Friendships and Ask Questions:
• Don’t answer someone’s questions until you know what is in their mind and where they are
coming from. Doctor’s don’t treat people until they have asked a lot of questions.
• Common opening questions to ask:
o How did you hear about these lectures?
o Have you ever attended meetings like this before?
o Have you regularly been interested in spiritual things?

2. Confirming Decisions for Jesus:

• Cognitive consistency – is an attempt to harmonise all new data with existing data. Every need
idea creates friction unless it is harmonised with existing data in the mind
• Therefore, there is a need to harmonise these new ideas for people with Jesus. They need to see
that Jesus loves the new idea. i.e., Jesus loved the Sabbath etc.
• People need to be anchored in Jesus.
• On each visit, there is the need to confirm decisions for Jesus.
• Share two texts after they have made a decision for Jesus.
• Reinforce their decisions
• Texts: Eph 2:8; John 3:16; 1 John 5:14-17

3. Build Attendance for Jesus:

• Think about your interest’s that have not come yet, and work to build attendance.
• If a person has come once and has not come back, it is possibly best to phone them
• If a person is coming regularly then visit them.
• If a person requested Steps to Christ, then go to their door and give it to them
• After the first two weeks of the programs, you need to know each of your contacts by face,
name and also background.
• If people have stopped coming you may phone them and say something along the lines of. “It’s
---- from Discoveries, we would like to thank you for coming along to the programs. You may
not be aware that there are more than four programs. This coming weekend we have this topic -
---- Do you think that you might b able to attend?”
• Phrase your questions in such a way that you don’t back people into a corner.
• Don’t ask as many question’s over the phone as you would if you were visiting them face to
face
 14
HOW TO RESPOND TO COMMON OBJECTIONS:
Mark Finley

Rapture Theology:
• They teach that Christ’s coming (rapture) and the saved being caught up 1 Thess 4. The unsaved
are left alive on the earth. The only place the word ‘rapture’ is used is in the Latin Vulgate
translation in 1 Thess 4 (rapiere)
• Then the coming of Christ is divided into two parts. A coming for the saints at the beginning of the
rapture and a coming with t saints after the seven year tribulation
• The tribulation is divided into two parts both 3 ½ years. After the rapture it’s at that time that the
antichrist appears. The antichrist stats out as good but 3 ½ years into this 7 year period, with a one
world government, he rebuilds the Jewish temple, and manifests himself in the temple. During the
tribulation there is 144 000 literal Jews that preach the gospel. You can be saved during the
tribulation but you are experiencing terrible adversary, and then Christ comes to save the converted

• Theological Implications: for Seventh-day Adventists:

o This theology does not prepare people for the coming crisis. It is a sugar coated
Christianity, you don’t need to be worried about going through a tribulation, It borders
on the idea that if you suffer pain and suffering in your life you must not be walking
with Christ. It is based on prosperity preaching.
o Seventh-day Adventists have a different approach. We believe that God leads us to a
deep spiritual experience no matter what crisis comes, i.e., in Daniel, or Paul, of Jesus
who all suffered etc.
o Is it possible that a shift is taking place in Adventism today from the Word of God to a
superficial emotional experience? If worship shifts from the word, then where is this
worship service leading. Is it leading to the depth of God’s word that is life
transforming that will prepare people for the coming crisis
o Superficiality will not get us through the coming crisis, we need to have our experience
in the word of God

• How to Approach the Rapture Theology:

o Evidence of Jesus himself in the parables:
ƒ There is no division in the parables of two comings of Christ. Matt 13 Wheat
and Tares, vs. 29, 30, “let both grow together until the harvest”. There is no real
separation of the events in Scripture see Matt 25, the destiny of the righteous and
the destruction of the wicked is a simultaneous event when Jesus comes.

o 1 & 2 Thessalonians:
ƒ 1 Thess 4:16, 17, shout, trumpet and archangel. This is not a quiet or secret
event.
ƒ The church community that reads 1 Thessalonians feels that Christ is coming
quickly. So Paul writes 2 Thess 1:7-11
ƒ 2 Thess 2:1-4, the rapture will not come until the falling away and the man of sin
comes first, which is prior to the rapture, before our gathering together with him.
Paul also says then, “don’t let anyone deceive you” on this.
 15

o The Gospels:
ƒ Matt 24, Luke 17, only 2 classes only the saved and the lost. Whatever you label
the classes there are only two classes.

o The History of Israel:

ƒ Rev 15:1, seven angels having the seven last plagues.
ƒ 1 Cor 10. Paul is talking about the history of Israel, which is an example of what
would happen in the Christian church. Where was Israel during the plagues? In
Egypt. Israel was delivered after the plagues. The Egyptians taught a false
religious ideology and imposed this on the Israelites. Exod 5:4, 5. The king of
Egypt did not want the Israelites to rest, the root word for ‘rest’ is ‘sabbatise’.
The sun god of Israel is Ammon Ra, and the Pharaoh says to Moses, “you want
to rest” (i.e., keep the Sabbath). There is a precise parallel in the last days
between Egypt and its plagues and Revelation and the 7 last plagues.
ƒ God’s people are protected during the plagues and are delivered after the
plagues.

o Evidence from the book of Daniel:

ƒ Dan 9, Prophetic time table stops after the 69 weeks
ƒ Dan 9:24, determined chataak (cut off from, or amputated), The Messiah would
come and make an end to sin offering, to seal up and ratify the vision and anoint
the Most Holy.
ƒ Vs 24 is all about the Messiah
ƒ When the sanctuary was set up in ancient Israel, the first thing that happened was
that it was inaugurated, Jesus is here inaugurating the heavenly sanctuary, when
He ascends into heaven
ƒ Dan 9:25, is all about Messiah, Vs 26 is about the Messiah. Vs 27 is also about
the Messiah. Whenever you read ‘covenant’ in Scripture it always has to do
with God. Matt 26:28. This is my blood of the new covenant. Jesus always
establishes a covenant.
ƒ Abomination of desolation refers to two things. The Jewish temple, and also the
heavenly sanctuary, After the Messiah dies, there is a desolation of the temple.
ƒ The antichrist is not pictured as one who confirms a covenant.

o Concept of the Nature of the Church:

ƒ In OT God’s people were Israel, but in the NT God’s fellowship of believers is
the church. Eph 2:11, Col 2, Matt 21:40, 41; Gal 3:28, 29; 1 Pet 2.

o The Structure of Revelation itself:

ƒ Rev 14:6, 7 God’s eternal last day message. Vs 7 is a call to worship the
Creator. 14:9 is a call to not worship the beast. Where does worshipping the
beast and the creator find their focal point = 14:12 here the climax is over the
commandments of God. Those who reject the claims of Christ as Creator and
take the mark of the beast will drink of the wrath of God. (Wrath of God is
judgements on the wicked. This occurs whenever a person who has had
opportunity to respond and chooses not to, God withdraws and respects their
own choice.
 16

ƒ Every Plague is Christ Centred:

• 1st 16:2, those who have the mark of the beast can’t buy or sell. All
physical security is in Christ
• 2nd seas become like blood. All economic security is in Christ
• 3rd death decree with mark of the beast 16:4, God allows this because
they shed the blood and took the life. This says all my life is in Christ
• 4th the sun scorches men, false worship: all worship is in Christ. We are
Sabbath keepers because we worship God as Creator etc.
• 5th darkness on seat of the beast they look for light but only find
darkness. All light and truth is only in Jesus
• 6th Babylon represents counterfeit religion. Kings of the East represents
Christ. The support system the river Euphrates dries up. Before the
plagues the false system promises answers, but now in the 6th plague the
people see that the false system cannot deliver, they no longer support the
false powers they turn on them. At this time the Kings from the east
comes, just like Cyrus delivered the people from Jerusalem from
Babylon, so to Christ comes to deliver His people from out of trouble.
• See Rev 19:11, is the description of Rev 16, Armageddon. You have the
plural the armies from heaven, King of kings and Lords of Lords. Ps
10:16, PS 24:7, 74:12. In the crisis of your life all deliverance is in
Christ.
• 7th plague 16:15, Behold Jesus is coming as a thief, blessed is he who
watches and keeps his garments. In other words keep your security in
Jesus Christ. All true victory is in Christ. Jesus will make an end of sin
and we are on the winning side because it is done/ finished.

ƒ A good sermon to take is on the four ‘it is finished/done’, statements in the

Bible.

HOW TO HELP PEOPLE OVERCOME SMOKING:

Mark Finley
• The approach of walking, exercise and water helps people who already have a strong will, but those
who don’t have this will become depressed.
• A Biblical approach is far better.
• Ask people if they believe that God is leading them to a desire to quit smoking?

STRATEGIES TO HELP PEOPLE OVERCOME SMOKING:

• This strategy is based on the assumption that these people are already in a spiritual environment
• Victory over smoking is not achieved by will power it is achieved by faith:
o If it were by my will power, then the strong could quit and the weak would fail.

• Victory takes place instantaneously when you believe:

o Not because of my belief, but because my faith reaches up to God and receive His
power. Faith is not the saviour it is the hand that received God’s power.
 17
• Difference between victory and craving:
o Most of the time their will still be a craving, this is different to the victory.
o Introduce the physical modalities, drinking water, walking, no coffee etc, not to achieve
the victory but to sustain the victory that they already have by faith in Jesus Christ

BIBLE TEXTS TO HELP PEOPLE QUIT AND OVERCOME:

• John 5:6, Jesus said to the man do you want to be made well. What if Jesus sat here today and
asked you if you wanted to be made well or made whole? What would Jesus say?
• How did Jesus say we could be made well? 1 John 5:4. The Bible says that victory comes through
faith. Your faith receives the power of Jesus. God wants to give you victory
• 1 John 5:14, 15, 16. This is the confidence that we have in Him. The confidence is in Jesus, not
self. If we ask anything according to His will. DO you think that it is in Jesus’ will for you to give
up smoking? He hears us and then we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him
• Now you can have absolute confidence that he will give you the power. You don’t need faith in
yourself. It is faith in Him. When you accept what God says no matter how you feel or see, then
that is faith. The man at Bethesda did not have faith in self; he had faith in the words of Jesus.
• Do you believe that what Jesus says is true … even if you don’t feel it or see it? Faith is the power
of God, not our own faith
• Phil 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
• Explain what faith is and how victory comes about by faith. Look at the miracles of Christ etc.
• Build up their faith,
• Tell them to get all of your cigarettes and bring them here to you. “Submit to God, resist the devil
and he will flee from you” James 4:7. Submitting is faith in God, resisting is destroying the
cigarettes
• Will power and God’s power. God will not do it without you. But you cannot do it without Him
TEXTS TO USE:
o John 5:6
o 1 John 5:4
o 1 John 5:14-17
o Phil 4:13
o James 4:7

• Look at some of the promises of God. Mat 7:7; seek victory in Jesus in prayer today. We are going
to believe what God will do. God will not take the cigarettes from you.
• All the demons in hell cannot make you smoke, but God cannot take them out of your mouth. We
need to choose, God won’t force our choices. My will may be very week but it is still vitally
important.
• The act of the will in choosing the power of Jesus is relatively small but without that act we cannot
do it. It is the will that connects me to divine power. We are saying that we are going to give our
will to Jesus.
• Need to be positive in prayer in Christ.
• The reason that you have the craving is not because you do not have the victory. You need to
distinguish between the craving and the victory. And when you experience the craving quote 1 Cor
10:13, if the pull of the craving is this high, then God’s powers are even higher. When you have a
craving you are saying that Jesus Christ is stronger than this craving
• Reduce the Craving to sustain the victory. Not through righteousness by works to achieve the
victory but to sustain the victory that God has already given to you.
o Drink 8-10 glasses of water each day (Water on the inside)
 18
o If you have a craving have a shower if you are at home, because it is difficult to smoke
in the shower (Water on t outside)
o Break up your habit patterns. When do you smoke the most? You need to break these
habits and form new ones. Think of when you are most likely to fail and then form new
habits
o Avoid the alkaloids (all alkaloids end in ‘ine’), caffeine etc.
o Drink juices, but don’t fast for 24 hours, may put them on fruit for half a day
• Give them your phone number and tell them that you are going to talk to them twice per day and
get them to call you if they have a strong craving at any other time. Pray with them over the phone.
Visit them for the first week at least twice each week.
• Based on Rom 6, the past life is gone and there is a new life. And that cigarette smoking will not
rule their life. In their own mind they need to be convinced and assured in their own mind that they
are a non smoker, that they have victory, in their own mind
• It is hard to have a hard and fast rule; the same things cannot apply for everyone.
• But the person needs to have that assurance of victory in their own lives

SERMON SYNCHRONISER PRESENTATION:

• Basic mode good for Revelation of Hope graphics.
• Select the program and language that you want to show to the audience
• Options for the notes that you want to show on the screen.
• It will then show you the number of sermons that are available in the series etc.

Overview of the Editing Process:

• In editing use the tools that are available in the synchroniser editor panel.
• Navigation – ‘next’ button advances the note slides and the audience slides
• “More” allows you to have as many pages of notes as you need for audience graphics. There is the
thumbnail of the audience slide but the thumbnail for the next slide is totally blank. As long as
there is the ‘more’ on your screen your notes will appear with the advancing of the clicker but the
audience picture won’t change.
• You need to make sure that the ‘more’ only goes on a slide with other notes slides to follow.
• Warning slides are not in sync. If you hit ‘put in sync’ it goes to the slide that it says should be the
one for your presentation.
• If it is still not in sync then we need to look at every slide that says ‘more’.
• You need to have the right number of slides for your notes that also have to line up with the right
number of notes that the audience sees.
• “Renumbering slides”, renumbers all of the slides if you have made changes
• “Both Presentations” section, will do actions to both the audience and the presenter’s view, and will
always keep you in sync.
• “insert picture or movie” allows you to add a picture etc to a blank slide which you have already
added with “Add blank slides”
• “restore backups” when you first start editing it creates a backup file of your first edit, before you
change anything, but then every time you edit again it will make a copy of the file before you make
further changes.
• “Notes Presentation” section effect’s only the notes side of your presentation, i.e., the presenter’s
view.
• “Add/Remove MORE” puts a more either on or off the slide that you are working with.
 19
• “Add/Remove NEXT” is useful with animation. Instead of taking you to the next slide, it takes you
to the next animation point on the existing slide.

PERSONAL EVANGELISM:
Mark Finley
The Use of the Word of God in Personal Counselling Options:
• George Whitfield was an open field preacher. Wesley preached in halls and churches and
stimulated interest into organised small groups. Whitfield at the end of his ministry said that his
people were like ropes of sand. Whereas Wesley’s people were solid because he had led them into
small groups etc.
• Whitfield, Example of use of Scripture when staying with a rich couple, “One thing thou lackest.”
• There is more power in the Word of God than many of us realise. Other books may be inspiring
but the Bible is inspired
• Heb 4:12, the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword…” God’s
word is alive if it is planted in the soil of the mind then it reaches up and produces the fruits of the
Spirit.
• Ps 33:6, 9, the power of the spoken word at creation. The audible word that came from the mouth
of Christ carried with it such power that it created tangible life. When God speaks world’s come
into existence. We can declare what is, whereas God declares that which is not so that it becomes
that which is. What God says is so even if it were never so before, because then it becomes so.
• Ed 126, the creative power that called the worlds into existence is in the word of God. The word of
God carries with it creative power.
• What God declares in his word when you accept it by faith, then that becomes creative and
redemptive power in your life.
• When they accept that promise by faith the creative energy in the word of God creates freedom
from guild and a new forgiveness. There is creative energy and new life in God’s word.
• Every time you open the Bible, this is God speaking to you. Modern scholarship simply reduces
the Bible to a culturally conditioned document. Predominantly it is the living word of God.
• If you come to the Bible with that presupposition then as you understand how to apply the Bible to
real life situations it becomes life transforming and life changing for the hearer.

Someone Who Feel’s that they have Little Hope they have Disregarded God’s Will and Know It:
• Joel 2:25, “I will restore to you the years that the storming locust has eaten…”
• How does God restore the years? He gives you better years in the future than you have had in the
past. God has a plan for you and your life will be changed.
• For people who feel there is no hope then these texts Joel 2:26-28
• Jer 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you says the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil
to give you a future and a hope.” God is thinking about you, you are on His heart and mind. He is
thinking about He can give you the greatest joy and happiness that you can imagine. Tell me ---
what is troubling you right now? God’s thoughts towards you are peace and a positive future.
• God will allow you to make choices but as you do so He promises you a glorious future, if you
choose to submit to your will
• Sometimes people cannot understand the doctrine because there are personal issues in someone’s
life that acts as a block
 20
People Who May Feel Betrayed:
• Divorcee’s fit into this category. People often have blockages and cant move forward.
• May I review some of the things that we are going over in the meetings? Is it clear that the Bible is
God’s word? Is it clear to you that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He frees us from guilt? (Mark
often uses this strategy for clearing people for baptism).
• Isa 54:4, 5, “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed nor disgraced…you will forget the shame of
your youth…for your maker is your husband…For a mere moment I have forsaken you but I will
gather you…”
• “One simple concept, do angels marry? “No.” “On earth we have men and women don’t we?”
“Yes we do?” “Why do you think that God allows us on earth to have husbands and children etc?”
Every relationship on earth reveals a perfect attribute of God’s love. These give us insights into
God and His love for us. God wants to teach us something about Himself, in every human
relationship. In every one of these we see something about God. If there is ever a distortion in any
place in the chain of relationships since the function of the relationship was to reveal the character
of God, God bypasses that individual and ministers directly to your heart the qualities that you
would have got otherwise and minister’s directly to you. God makes up the lack that others didn’t
give to you.
• What do we have in Scripture that we have that can provide an answer to that person?

Someone Who Feel’s as Though they have Little Spiritual Strength:

• People may know what they ought to do but are absolutely weak and are failing in doing it. The
issue is not cognitive understanding. The issue is that they are too weak to implement in their life
the things which they are understand.
• Need to find what is going on within that person. See Ellen White RH Aug 30, 1892, “The minister
must interest himself in everything that perplexes, troubles and hinders someone who wants to walk
in the light of the truth” Mark would perhaps say, “Was the Sabbath new to you when we studied
it?” “Do you have any questions about the Sabbath, or is it pretty clear?” “Is there anything that
would hinder you from keeping the Sabbath?” What we are doing with these questions is asking
past, present and future questions. They might say that they work on Sabbath etc. Now you make
the statement and pose the comment do they feel to weak to follow through with what they believe?
• Regularly we are restating what is going on in their life, so that they can see it.
• Red light Yellow Light Green Light principle. When you are working with people if the light
becomes red, you back up. It’s never worth breaking the relationship for. If it is green or yellow
light/response you keep moving and look if any other cars are in the intersection (if it is yellow). In
the above example with the Sabbath say, “Do I understand you correctly? The issue for you as I
see it is that you don’t have courage to go to your boss?” “May I share with you some texts that are
helpful?” Most decisions are not made on the cognitive level, taking the knowledge and putting it
into practice in their lives. See Isa 40:29-31. “What you need is strength and power” “Would it be
appropriate to ask God for the strength and power?” See also Matt 6:33, “Seeking God first” If we
make a decision to follow Him, then He will care for our physical needs. Phil 4:19. “Do you
believe that God can supply all of your needs? Do you believe that if God asks you to do
something that He won’t come through and deliver?” Often Mark kneels and makes the appeal in
prayer. Pray that God has given him courage, thank God that you know that He has decided to
follow Jesus. Ask if they would like you to go with them to their employer.” If they lose their job,
then God will take the responsibility to give them more work...
 21
Strategy During the Series / Program Schedule:
• With Bible work or public evangelism there are really seven major decisions:
• Prov 9:1, “Wisdom has built her house she has hewn out her seven pillars.” Passage not used in its
context, but used homiletically.” The house is the church and it has seven pillars.
• God’s church is predominantly based on seven pillars. And in any Adventist evangelistic series
these seven pillars should be covered and topics should be built around these:
o Scripture is the foundation
o Salvation is the central pillar
o Second Coming
o Sanctuary
o Sabbath
o State of the Dead
o Standards, Christian
o Spirit of Prophecy

• Scripture:
o First build up credibility in Scripture
• Salvation:
o DC (Decision Card), give out Steps to Christ, clarify people with salvation
• Second Coming:
o DC, literature on the Second Coming
• Sabbath:
o DC, Decisions are progressive. We need to have been in the home twice prior to
covering the Sabbath in the public meetings
o The Sabbath is a lifestyle change
• Sanctuary:

• State of the Dead:

o Put the millennium before the state of the dead, this way we are planting seeds
o After sanctuary and state of the dead, Mark will preach on baptism. This is meeting
number 16. Use a decision card for baptism, and possibly make a public appeal
o The state of the dead is an intellectual and emotional change
o

• Standards – health, lifestyle, commitment:

o In the context of baptism we will look at standards etc, and God’s true church
• Spirit of Prophecy:

• The goal is to be in the homes early and take the contacts progressively through the steps.
• In a three week campaign, and if you started on a Sabbath, you would want to be in the homes on
Monday.
• Every night / day that you preach you must have the belief that God wants people to be there. i.e.,
if people come for the first time with the Sabbath or Mark of the Beast, you shouldn’t change your
message but believe that God wants them to be there
 22
• Preaching on Ellen White in a Public Series:
o Preach on the gift of prophecy and the gifts of the spirit and raising up the gift of
prophecy in His last day movement
o In a longer program he would cover Ellen White directly in the public programs.
o With Ellen White, Mark would deal with this topic specifically in the baptismal class
o Baptismal class 13 points Mark has covered. With a baptismal review sheet, this sheet
fills in the gaps and these gaps need to be filled.

• A prospect is a person that has lots of questions but has not made any
• An interest is a person who is making regular decisions in their lives

BAPTISM:
Mark Finley

Determining Readiness for Baptism:

• What presuppositions do we have when we stand up before this audience? Have there been lay
workers, Bible studies, health workers and young people from the Adventist churches who have
already had exposure to the Adventist message. This presupposition is that there have already been
people who have been contacts for up to six months
• For some people a year or two years is not enough.
• The question is not how long it takes to prepare someone for baptism but how deep their
commitment is.

How Do You Explain the Rapid Baptisms in the New Testament?

Five Criteria for Every Rapid Baptism in the New Testament:

• At each of these rapid baptisms we see the altar call and the final baptism, a snapshot of decision
not the previous instruction
• The NT picture show us the point of decision not the previous instruction

1) All Except One Give Evidence of Previous Instruction:

• Acts 2 – Jews, for 3 ½ years they had known of Christ
• Acts 8 – Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
• Acts 10 – Cornelius, a God fearing man
• The Philippian jailer seems to be rapid without at least from the text previous instruction, although
we have to assume it
• Lydia – was a God fearer

2) All Characterised by the Miraculous which says it is Time to Move:

• The miraculous helps you confirm that this is what God wants
• There is evidence that God is at work in the situation
• We need to work where God is working
• Is there evidence that Spirit has been moving in their life?
 23
3) Are Initiated by the Believer:
• i.e. they are under conviction from the Spirit of God
• Acts 2, “What must I do to be baptised?”
• All are initiated by the individual

4) All Accept a Prophetic Message:

• Acts 2, prophetic sermon
• Ethiopian Eunuch prophetic message
• They need to accept a prophetic message for the end time

5) Led People to Identify with Christianity Where the Environment Was Hostile:
• Christianity was not always welcome in the Roman world it was looked as a Jewish sect or cult.
• These people were willing to disassociate themselves with society
• There is always evidence of prophetic message and present truth
• They are willing to stand out and be different in their society

Biblical Requirements for Baptism:

• Acts 2 is a good chapter to see most of these three principles
• When we say we believe in Jesus, what do we mean?
• If we believe in Jesus, we need to believe the teachings from Jesus
• We are baptised into Christ which is the head and the head is never severed from the body which is
the church. See 1 Cor 12. A body which is the church is something which is organised. In 1 Cor
12:27, we are baptised into one body which is the church.
• You cannot separate Jesus’ instructions and teachings from Jesus.
• When people are baptised they are babes in Christ and need to be nurtured

• Commitment to Christ:
o Mark 16:15
o Acts 2:38, repentance, belief
o Are they praying, studying, and coming to meetings?

• Instruction in the Christian Faith:

o Acts 2:41, gladly receiving God’s word = instruction. See also Matt 28:19,20, making
disciples
o Essential belief in Jesus leads to instruction in what Jesus taught
o Jesus says I am the way, this is the way of salvation, he says that He is the truth this is
instruction, He is the life? This is practice of the truth.

• Practice the truth that they know leads them to unite with the body:
o Acts 2:42, continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine
o Are they living the life that shows that they have accepted the truth

• When people go through these three steps then they are ready for baptism
 24

How Much Does a Person Need to Know Before Being Baptised into the Adventist Church?
• When people are baptised they are baptised into the church
• When a person is baptised they are asked and reviewed through the baptismal requirements on the
certificate.
• Take from the minister’s manual the 13 statements from the minister’s manual and write on two
sheets “Following in the Footsteps of Jesus Statements of Faith”. Six on one sheet and seven on the
other sheet.
• List all 13 with 5 or 6 Bible texts under each statement, then a person signs the sheet,
• Then we come to the church body and say this is what the person
• Preparing candidates for baptism is a spiritual work
• Two dangers that first, someone is rushed and they are not ready. But the second danger is that you
super impose human standards that creates more of a religious club and many people are lost this
way
• The three baptismal vows are to be read in the public forum but the 13 points from the minister’s
manual is the primary review sheet / clearing sheet. However, the primary instruction comes from
studies or the public programs.

Rebaptism and Profession of Faith:

o See chapter in Ellen G White’s Evangelism on Baptism, Re-baptism and Profession of
Faith.
o Explain to people that their baptism is valid in accepting Christ previously, but if they
feel as though they have been led to understand truth in a complete way then the choice
for re-baptism is their’s.

Mark Finley, 22.05.07

Nature of New Testament Baptism:
• Matt 3:13-17, Jesus comes to be baptised. He comes to John The word used in vs. 13, it is ‘came’.
Jesus ‘came’ to be baptised, the Spirit worked upon Him and led Him to be baptised.
• The Spirit leads people at the right time, and the Pastor must be sensitive to the working of the
Holy Spirit in the life on the believer
• It is a matter of timing. When the Spirit of God convicts somebody to be baptised then we need to
be cautious in holding them back
• Jesus came at the right time led by the Spirit to be baptised
• John the Baptist tried to prevent Jesus from being baptised.
• The reason that we are baptised is not because we are perfect but because we are imperfect. Jesus’
baptism was the only perfect baptism. We are baptised into the perfection of Jesus’ Christ’s
baptism.
• In New Testament baptism the believer is baptised into the righteousness and perfection of Jesus
Christ’s baptism
• After Jesus’ baptism he was tempted by the devil. But he received the Spirit to strengthen Him in
the temptation
• When Jesus is baptised all of heaven is opened with Heaven well pleased, and this happens with
every believer today. The person has assurance that they are God’s son
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Preparation for Baptism: When is Somebody Ready?
Genuine repentance:
• Acts 2:37, 38. Repentance is a godly sorrow towards sin. The person looks back at their life, and
the things which they once loved, they now hate.

Authentic experience with Jesus:

• Baptism above all is union with Christ
• Col 2:12, buried with Christ in baptism. Gal 3:27, “Baptised into Christ have put on Christ.” There
needs to be evidence of an authentic Christian experience?

A Biblical understanding:
• There is a biblical understanding. Acts 2:41, “Those who gladly received his word were baptised.”
There needs to be the didactic element for someone to be baptised.
• If a person has already accepted the Sabbath and its change then there is no need to study it again.
Instead we need to review and find out where the gaps are. We don’t rush people but we also don’t
delay people
• Go into the home and say, “---- You checked a card the other night asking for baptism, can I show
you from the Bible about Jesus’ baptism? What does it mean that it says Jesus received the Spirit at
His baptism? He received the fullness of the Spirit at His baptism. On the day of your baptism,
Jesus will speak from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Part of
being baptised means that we become disciples, so do you have time now to look at the teachings of
Jesus.”
• Mark goes over the sheet with them over two sittings. He reads it to them and perhaps looks at one
text, and then asks them if they understand it or if they have any questions
• This sheet is not primary instruction. It is review assuming that the person has been coming to the
meetings or been in Bible study with us. He does not use the Baptismal review on a new person as
the gaps will be too great. With Adventist young people he regularly uses this review sheet and
may take 4 sessions to go through it with them or longer.
• How much do they need to know? Look at the back of the baptismal certificate, we cannot go
beyond that. People need to be clear on the 13 baptismal vows. But we will expect them to learn
more after they join the church

Meaningful Fellowship:
• Acts 3:42. People need to continue in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship. The head cannot be
separated from the body. See 1 Cor 12:13, by one sprit we are all baptised into one body.” Vs. 27,
the body is the church. There is a sense that these people have a desire to fellowship

The Baptismal Experience in the Life of the Believer:

• You need to prepare then spiritually not just doctrinally, so that it is the highest day in their life
• Study three concepts just prior to their baptism:
o There is new life in Christ:
ƒ (Romans 6), spend time on what that means
o There is new power in Christ:
ƒ Power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus promises that He will give you power to
overcome in Jesus.
ƒ Acts 2. The power of the Living God to over come as well as to witness
 26
o There is new community in Christ:
ƒ Local church may let you down but you are part of a larger SDA community that
is God’s church
ƒ The Adventist church is not like any other church it is a movement of destiny
ƒ They have brother’s and sisters all around the world

How Do We Make Baptisms Meaningful?

• Personalise every baptism
• Sit down with them and ask them about their back ground, ask for permission if you can share it
with the church
• Ask them how they came to know Christ
• Have they had any unique victories in their life? As this can often help others
• Ask them to give a testimony.
• Have them choose a hymn etc.
• Give them flowers or a devotional book etc. A daily devotional book and something from Ellen
White eg: Desire of Ages.
• After the baptism have them come up and pray for them. Ask if there are family members present
and have them come up, and say that you want to pray for them, if there is anyone else that wants to
get baptised then invite them down the front of the church, sing a hymn and then pray for them etc.

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS THE HOLY SPIRIT:

• Holy Spirit downplays the spirit in the life. See BRI material on the Holy Spirit
• Argument from absence the absence of evidence does not mean the evidence of absence
• Each of the Godhead has different characteristic. Ask what their functions are.
• If you see John 16:7, 8, 13, and 14. It talks about the role of the Holy Spirit. The function of the
Holy Spirit is to bring glory to Jesus.
• Need to show the plurality of God in the Old Testament, and when angels worship God in the OT
they are actually worshipping the Godhead
• Deut 6:4. “Hear Oh Israel the Lord our God is One.” The Hebrew is interesting. “The Lord our
God the Lord is One.” The first word for lord is Jehovah this is used of the Father and Jesus. The
second is Jehoyahim. Elohim is the plural name of the Godhead in the OT. The word for one is
accad, Accad in the Hebrew does not necessarily mean one element they can be more than one
element i.e. One not in the numerical sense but in the sense of compound unity. Eg: “The two will
become one flesh.” The plurality of the Godhead is one.

VISITATION OF INTERESTS:
Mark Finley – 08.05.07
• Why Mark presents the Sabbath early in his series. If you present it late many who have gone
through the series will have dropped out and have missed the opportunity to hear the message of the
Sabbath.
• In a series of 21 meetings Mark presents the Sabbath halfway through the series.
• First 10 meetings there are two major themes. All topics are preached in blocks. The first two
meetings are to gain interest. Then a block of meetings on Salvation, then the Second Coming of
Christ. If a person misses meeting 4, then meeting 5 will still allow a person not to have a gap in
their mind about a particular topic.
 27
• Mark is now preaching a block on the law the Sabbath and the change of the Sabbath. Sabbath ties
us to our identity in Genesis, the salvation on the cross and our future in the new Eden
• How to Prepare People in 3-5 Minutes in Visits to help on the Sabbath:

Visitation Goals this Week:

• ‘Clear and Set’. Clear on the past and prepare them for the future. When you visit you are visiting
with typically one or two things. Steps to Christ, or Signs magazine etc.
• If you had new names that came only once why not phone, and say something like this. “Hi! I am
---- and am calling for Mark Finley from the Discovery Series. We would like to thank you for
coming to one of our meetings. We would just like to let you know that they are still continuing,
there are no tickets needed, and many people are attending. The topics that he is covering this
weekend are… Well --- do you think that you may be able to come this weekend?”
• With phone visits identify the location of where the meetings are being held, so that people will
readily associate with why you are phoning.
• When a person doesn’t come back we need to make an assumption: (1) they didn’t like it and so
they have decided not to come back, or (2) they are busy and couldn’t make each meeting. We
should assume that everyone who comes to the meetings wants to be there, but that perhaps they
have been busy and unable to attend. Therefore, we need to persist with our calling.
• Be in every home of people who are coming systematically. Learn everyone’s face before the
meetings
• In public evangelism, Mark doesn’t visit people more than twice a week

For People Who Are Attending the Meetings Regularly:

• (This example assumes that you haven’t visited the contact at their home before):
• At the door, “Hi! I am ---- from the Discovery Series at --- we are just so delighted that you are
coming to the series, thank you for coming to the meetings. You know Pr Finley spoke about
Egypt and its role in Bible prophecy and I know you will be delighted with this magazine. I notice
that you have come to a number of the programs, do you have any questions? Have you always
had an interest in spiritual things and Bible prophecy? Do you just have a moment for me to share
something with you that’s quite significant from the Bible (John 14:6)?
• If they have questions after you have asked them then the following response is good. “I am more
than happy to answer some of these questions, but would this be a good time for me to come in and
chat to you about your questions?” (If it is not suitable, look for a different time).
• At some time in the home visit to prepare people for the Sabbath etc, Mark says, “You know that
Jesus gave wonderful instruction to His disciples while on earth, and one of the most profound
things He said is recorded in John 14:6. “I am the way the truth and the life…” (Jesus is three
things: He is the way of salvation, He is the truth and He is the life). “Have you in the past made a
full surrender to Jesus? That is the way. The next thing that you can be certain of is that you can
know that Jesus will reveal His truth to you. You know as I come to the meetings each time I sit
there and ask the Lord to be guided into more truth, would you like to do that too? Can I pray that
Jesus will help me and you to be open to more truth?” (Now Mark wants to ‘set- prepare’ their
mind for the Sabbath. This prepares the person’s mind with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• John 14 – Jesus is the way, this is His Salvation. Jesus is the Truth. He reveals His truth to us.
Jesus reveals His truth to us, so that we will live the Life.
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SHARPENING OUR SKILLS IN PERSONAL WORK TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE:

Mark Finley, 09.05.07

• All soul winning is cooperation with the Holy Spirit
• In soul winning you need to know how to work with people, how to make your appeals, you need
to know what is going on in peoples mind’s
• If we understand how people function then we can know how to work effectively with them
• The issue in soul winning is not manipulating the mind but clearing away the clutter so people can
make the proper choice. See Rom 12:1, 2; Josh 24:15; Rev 22:17. The whole Bible ends with the
power of choice
• SC 47, what you need to understand is the power of the will.
• MH 176, through the right exercise of the will an entire change can be made in the life.
• People are not saved by will power, they make a choice and align their will with God to enable Him
to work within them
• Our work in soul winning is to help people make right choices
• In the forebrain we have the will. The will is defined as the governing power in the nature of man
that brings all of the faculties under control
• As long as there are obstacles in their mind’s (cognitive dissonance), which are obstructing their
decision making process in making decisions you can preach all that you want but they will not
make a decision.
• If you are going to be an effective soul winner you need to find out everything that troubles,
everything that hinders a person for them to make a decision.
• FFF principle, ‘feeling’, ‘felt’, and ‘found’. I understand how you must ‘feel’, if all I had was Col
2, I might feel that way to. Let’s review what the Bible says on the Sabbath. You know many
others have ‘felt’ this way before that they would struggle with Sabbath work. They have ‘found’
Sabbath answers in God’s word.
• Upper layer approach. After the head is informed you always go for the heart. Often the first
objection is not the real issue it may just be the tip of the iceberg. So it may be good to say, “--- is
that the only problem that you have in keeping the Sabbath and being baptised? Is that all that is
holding you back, or is there something else that is holding you back?”
• Ps 27:10, “When my father and mother forsake me, then my Lord will take care of me.” This is
good for people who are facing pressures from their families when they decide to make a decision
for Jesus
• If you want to be an effective soul winner then you need to come close to people
• Our role as a soul winner is to help them to clarify issues. And also share an appropriate Bible text.
• Unless people are clearly confronted with sin, they may never give it up. When preaching on this
work from the angel of conviction.
• Always end a sermon with forgiveness and the hope of forgiveness.
• Let people express their objections freely. Past understanding, present knowledge, and future
commitment. If you are sitting in the home say, “---- the other day we talked about the Sabbath as
a rest in Christ and our loyalty to Him…. Have you ever heard a message on the Bible Sabbath
before? Is it new? (This is a non threatening question as you are not asking them to do anything).
Is the Sabbath clear? (An objection is always a door way of opportunity. When it is stated it is
always best to restate the objection. i.e., “Do I understand you clearly that your objection to the
Sabbath is Rom 14 and that every day is alike?” Restatement and summarise the objection helps
you clarify in your mind and their mind what has been said and it gives you time to think.) Luke at
some Sabbath texts: Gen 2:1-3; Exod 20:8-11; Luke 4:16; John 14:15; Rev 14:12.
 29
• We restate the objection and then summarise the teaching so as to solidify Bible truth in their minds
before answering the objection. After doing this say, “Now lets look at Rom 14:5, 6.

Some Sabbath Objections:

• Romans 14:5
o Mark Finley uses Roul Dederen’s “Esteeming One Day Above Another.”
o 14:5, does the text itself say anything about the Bible Sabbath? The Sabbath is not in
the text.
o Does the text itself say anything about worship?
o Whose estimate of the day is this, is it man’s estimate of the day or God’s. i.e., it is
man’s estimate of the day.
o Is what we are talking about here a commandment written by the finger of God on
commandments of stone? See vs. 1, it is written to those who are in the faith, i.e.,
Christians, but they are weak in the faith. Those who are weak in the faith are arguing
about doubtful things (See vs. 1). Was the Sabbath ever a doubtful issue? No. The
issues that they are disputing about are not ‘thus saith the Lord’, they are doubtful
things. Were there opinions that came into Christianity doubtful things that were not
biblical things but doubtful things? See vs. 5, 6 (Vs 6, is the key). The kind of day is a
day where there is eating or not eating. It is not a Sabbath it is a fast day, which was
introduced into the Christian community and the issue was to eat or not eat, and if I
fasted then I could say that I am a better Christian than you.
o Luke 18:11, 12, the spirit of the Pharisees was the spirit of the externals. The Pharisee’s
fasted twice per week.
o “---- Do you have any further questions about it, is it clear to you?”
o Then after looking at this then finish with Rev 14:12

• Colossians 2:15-17
o Mark does not believe personally that Col 2 is talking about the ceremonial law being
nailed to the cross. It is discussing ceremonies. The ceremonial law however is a
witness to the indebtedness that was nailed to the cross.
o In answering their objection restate. “Do I understand that you are concerned about that
statement in Col 2? (The worst thing that can happen is if you come across as arrogant)
o See vs. 11. For the Jew circumcision was setting apart for holy living. Paul is going to
equate baptism with circumcision for the believer
o Vs. 12, Paul uses baptism here
o Vs. 13, 14, ‘dead in your trespasses in your uncircumcision of flesh’. Before coming to
Christ I was dead in sins, and in the uncircumcision of my flesh, I am an alien set apart
from Christ. Now I have spiritual circumcision through baptism
o ‘Choreographer’ Greek word. Most modern translations translate it as bond of
indebtedness, this is nailed to the cross
o Vs. 15, Satan held me in bondage and debt and he was nailed to the cross. ‘Therefore’
connects that passage with everything which has gone before. Because Christ has nailed
my indebtedness to the cross let nobody judge you in the ceremonial system to your
bond of indebtedness.
o Paul is quoting from Ezek 45:17, which talks about the exact same sequence food and
drink and festivals are offerings. These offerings were to make atonement for Israel, and
this was made on the cross.
 30
o Show people that atonement was made on the cross.
o See ‘Sabbaths’ the seventh-day Sabbath was never a shadow. The law of shadows is
found in Heb 10:1. “The law was a shadow of good things to come…” the law of
shadows is found in the ceremonial systems. The particular Sabbaths that are done
away with are the shadows. See Lev 23, God introduces the seventh day Sabbath, and
then he introduces the ceremonial Sabbaths, and finally ends with the seventh day
Sabbath.
o Are there two types of Sabbaths in Lev 23? See vs. 3. Then there are ceremonial
Sabbaths. Vs. 37, 38 “these are the feasts of the Lord…feasts, burnt offerings, grain
offerings” these are “beside the Sabbaths of the Lord” So here he has given us the
seven annual Sabbaths. See vs. 3, 32, first day and the ninth day, it is obvious that they
are not the seventh day Sabbath. What clues you in on the annual Sabbaths is vs. 36,
o Lev 23. Some say Sabbath worship is unnecessary. But Sabbath was always a holy
convocation a gathering together of God’s people.
o The ceremonial law was a witness to our bond of indebtedness. When this is nailed to
the cross the witness to our bondage of sin is gone.
o Col 2 speaks of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross and our indebtedness being nailed to the
cross. When Christ died on the cross all of those events which foreshadowed Christ met
their fulfilment in Christ therefore with the annual sabbaths let no one judge you.
o The annual Sabbaths were simply things which pointed forward to what was to come.
o The new symbol is not the ceremonial system, but rather baptism in Christ.

• There are three counsellors of the will. Conscience, Ideals, Reason.

• The will, will not act to make a decision unless it is informed by its three counsellors. Counsellors
this is what you ought to do, ideals say this is what is best to do, and reason says this is what is
reasonable to do. Reason determines the logic or illogic of an action it provides the facts and
information. Reason always provides data to the will. Reason is the database.

The Three Counsellors of the Will:

Conscience:
• Conscience says this is what you ought to do. It predominantly deals with the rightness or
wrongness of the action. It deals with conviction.
• We don’t make decisions simply on information. We need to add conviction – the wrongness or
rightness of an action.
• Conviction says this is what you ought to do.
• Statements that include things which are important to God are convicting statements.

Ideals:
• Ideals have to do with desire. They say this is the kind of personal want to be, this is what I desire
to do. Some people will act on conviction, but when ideals are motivated then they will be act.
• Desire is the most important thing in people making a decision.

Reason:
• Reason is the information base. Most SDA evangelists are pretty good with information.
• Every sermon has to be a combination of all of these things: Conscience, Ideals, and Reason
• Information says this is logical, these are the facts
• Reason counsels the will
 31
Information, Conviction and Desire:
• The will, will not act unless reason says these are the facts, unless conscience says this is right, the
will, will not act unless ideals say this is what I want to do
• The key is: Information, Conviction and then Desire
• The essence of soul winning is to clear the information, work with the Holy Spirit on conviction,
and enhance desire.
• Min / Max theory. People tend to act when the liabilities are low and the benefits are high. When
you study the appeals of Christ He was amazing at motivating people.
• We need to determine if people have adequate information. “Is the Sabbath clear to you?” Try and
evaluate the level of conviction. Is the Holy Spirit already working in this person’s heart? and then
you motivate their desire. “You know --- you have been brought up in an Adventist family are
things pretty clear that the Bible is the word of God? … Have you given your life to Jesus? … At
the meetings you heard about the Second Coming of Christ how do you feel about that? ... What
about the Sabbath?”
• Then a key question which makes a transition. “Has the Holy Spirit been working on your heart to
make a decision?” (We want to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. What is their conviction like?).
• When we have information and their conviction is sound, then we move to desire.

How Jesus Motivated People:

• Jesus motivated desire. When He makes appeal he always blends things which enhance desire
• Mark 10:21 – “Sell everything you have and you will have treasure in Heaven”. See v 28-30. Peter
says we have left all and followed you. Jesus promised Peter that whatever you give up for the
gospel sake He would return a hundred fold both now and in the kingdom.
• Every appeal that Christ makes in the NT He not only says that people may lose something, but
they will also receive something.

Seven Appeals that Jesus Made that Motivated Desire:

The Benefit of Peace:
• When working with a Catholic person you tie Sabbath to a benefit.
• Every doctrine has to be tied to a benefit. Jesus always tied propositional truth to a benefit.
• John 14:27, Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you.”
• Is the Sabbath really clear to you now? Has the Lord been convicting you that the Sabbath is right?
But I know that ---- this is a problem with you in making this decision… May I show you
something that Jesus promises when you make the right decision Read John 14:27? Would you
like to make a decision to follow Jesus because I long for the peace of Jesus, only He can give you
this peace? Do you want to kneel down and pray and ask Jesus for the peace that He promises.
• John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace.” There is nothing
more satisfying than the peace of Jesus
• Ps 119:65, Mark often uses this on the Sabbath. “Great peace have they that love your law.” “---
As you make a decision for the Sabbath I know that you have been unable to sleep etc, that you
have been struggling, but God wants to give you great peace”
• There are three ways to motivate desire: Benefits, consequences, and influence.
• With influence look at Rom 14:12.
 32
The Benefit of the Holy Spirit:
• When you do what you know the Spirit is leading you to do, then the Spirit empowers you to do it.
When you don’t do what you know to be right then you are left on your own to struggle.
• Need to work on the desire by working on the benefits, the desire and then the influence upon
others.
• Always use this with Pentecostal’s. They will accept the Sabbath but the hard one is tongues. “---
is the Sabbath clear to you? May I share with you something about the Holy Spirit? I have talked
to many Pentecostals and appreciate their emphasis on the Holy Spirit. I want to share with you
what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit John 14:15, now we have studied about the Sabbath haven’t
we? The Father is going to give us another Helper, this is the gift of the Holy Spirit and this is
much greater than anything else. We know that we receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Bible
truth. Acts 5:31, 32. God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey. Do you want to receive the
fullness of the Holy Spirit? Do you want to keep God’s commandments (John 14:15)? (Before we
attack tongues we are showing them that the fullness of the Spirit comes when they accept the
truths of the Bible).

The Benefit of Happiness:

• Similar to peace but is an inner sense of happiness, which is based on John 10:10, and John 13:17
• Someone that is pulled between Sabbath keeping and outdoor pursuits etc, “---- may I share
something with you that I think that is quite powerful John 10:10, Jesus did not come to take away
your happiness but to give you happiness. I want you to picture yourself with your family enjoying
nature and what the Sabbath can be for you with your family as you keep the Sabbath together.”

The Benefit of Heaven:

• This is particularly powerful with the elderly.
• This is also good with the Catholic mind, from a child they are brought up to think about heaven.
Any system of righteousness by works will give s feeling of lost-ness of never good enough. “----
you sense the responsibility of needing your job to support your wife and kids. You know Moses
faced a similar thing. Heb 11. Moses looked above what was on earth to heaven. Do you want to
look beyond earth to heaven? You know heaven is too important to me. I don’t want to be lost…”
• Counsel from the Virgin Mary for Catholics – John 2:5, the mother of Jesus “whatever He says to
you do it.” Then take them to John 14:15, whatever Jesus says to you do it. Shape the appeal to
meet the mind of the person you are dealing with.

The Benefit of Forgiveness and Freedom from Guilt:

• When you follow God’s truth you are free from the guilt that you experience when you know you
are not doing what you should

The Benefit of Truth:

• A sense that you are following truth and have found something important
• Some people are seeking truth. When you come to make your appeal, “---- earlier you said to me
that you had been seeking for truth. God has not brought you here by accident and now He is
inviting you to make a decision for truth.”
• John 14:6

The Benefit of an Appeal of the Majority:

• Most of the universe is loyal to God two thirds of the angels stayed loyal to God
 33
• If you want to fellowship with those on earth who are loyal to God then God will give you new
fellowship.

The Three Consequences of Wrong Doing:

• It is better to use the consequences of right doing rather than consequences of wrong doing.
However, these may be needed on occasion.

The Loss of Light:

o John 10:35, is good for Baptists, “Walk while you have the light lest darkness come
upon you.”

Believe a Lie:
o 2 Thess 2:8-12, If you do not accept a truth you may end up believing a lie

The More You Reject Truth the Easier it Becomes to Reject the Holy Spirit:
o John 16:13
o Dangerous to reject the Holy Spirit
o In the home, most decisions are made when people are on their knees

Influence on Others:
• What influence will your decision have on your father, wife, children etc. and others in the family?

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS:

How to Work with Couples Living Together but Not Married:

• Romans 6. Need to walk in newness of life. The old life is buried with Christ in baptism. Baptism
is a symbol of death to the old way of life. Is there anything in your old way of life that would
make you feel uncomfortable in newness of life? You do not want to let the Devil spoil that
newness of life.
• Most of the time Mark doesn’t mention about splitting up, he usually encourages them to marry etc.
Eg: “----- You guys look like such a great couple, is there any reason as to why you have not
married yet?” They might say, “What difference does marriage make, it’s just a piece of paper
anyway?”
• If there are children involved always move them toward marriage. Talk about the significance of
marriage, Genesis, priests, Jesus at the wedding in Canna
• Talk about the commitment of love, mind body and soul
• Work with them gently, find out what the obstacles are

MISCELLANEOUS:
• Need to promote baptism and have it as an option on decision cards prior to presenting baptism