In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Every evangelist begins with a question. Not a theological question, not an academic question, but the most personal and transformative question a human being can ask God: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" This question, first spoken by St. Paul on the road to Damascus, is the starting point of every genuine mission. It is a question of surrender, of readiness, and of love.
In this lesson, we will trace the journeys of two of the greatest evangelists in history - St. Peter and St. Paul - to understand how God prepares His preachers. We will see that evangelism does not begin with knowledge or eloquence. It begins with personal attachment to Christ and a willingness to set aside your own reasoning.
The Journey of St. Peter: From Fisherman to Fisher of Men
The First Encounter
Peter's story begins with his brother Andrew. Andrew came to Peter and said those unforgettable words:
"We have found the Messiah." - John 1:41
Peter came to see Christ, but he was not particularly enthusiastic at first. He came, he looked, and Christ looked at him. What happened next was extraordinary. Christ said to him:
"You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone). - John 1:42
Christ gave Peter a new name before Peter had done anything. This is how God works - He sees what you will become, not what you are. But notice something crucial: fascination is the first step in forming an evangelist. You must fall in love with Christ. Something in that encounter fascinated Peter, even if he did not yet understand it fully.
Back to Fishing
Yet after this encounter, Peter went back to fishing. He went back to his old life. Many of us do the same - we have moments of encounter with Christ, and then we return to our routines. But Christ does not give up.
Then Peter's mother-in-law fell ill with a fever. Christ came and healed her. Peter witnessed a miracle in his own home, with his own family. Still, Peter went back to fishing. The pull of the familiar is very strong.
The Miraculous Catch
The decisive moment came in Luke 5. Peter had been fishing all night and caught nothing. Christ came to the seashore, and the crowds pressed around Him to hear the word of God. He saw two boats and got into Peter's boat. He sat down and taught the people from the boat. Then He turned to Peter and said:
"Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." - Luke 5:4
Peter was a professional fisherman. He knew there were no fish - he had been out all night. Everything in his experience and reasoning told him this was pointless. But Peter said something that changed his life forever:
"Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." - Luke 5:5
"At Your word." This is the turning point. Peter set aside his own reasoning, his own expertise, his own understanding - and obeyed the word of Christ. This is the foundation of every evangelist: obedience to God's word even when it contradicts your own logic.
The result was a catch so enormous that the nets began to break. They filled both boats until they began to sink. And what did Peter do? He did not celebrate. He did not boast. He fell on his knees before Jesus and said:
"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" - Luke 5:8
When you truly encounter the holiness of Christ, the first response is not pride - it is humility. Peter recognized the gap between who Christ is and who he himself was. And Christ responded with the call:
"Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." - Luke 5:10
Peter left everything and followed Him.
The Path of Discipleship
But Peter did not instantly become an evangelist. He did not go out preaching the next day. He stayed close to Christ as a disciple for two to three years. He watched. He listened. He learned. He failed. He was corrected. He grew.
The path of discipleship is the path of evangelism. You cannot preach what you have not lived. You cannot share a Christ you do not know. The season of discipleship - of sitting at Christ's feet, of being formed by His presence - is not wasted time. It is essential preparation.
The Journey of St. Paul: From Persecutor to Apostle
A Man of Remarkable Credentials
Paul was not an ordinary man. He was highly intelligent, from a well-known family, a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had studied under Gamaliel, one of the greatest teachers in Israel. He was zealous, driven, and absolutely convinced that he was serving God.
The Pharisees used Paul to persecute the early Christians. He was present at the stoning of St. Stephen. He went from house to house, dragging men and women to prison. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. But here is what is remarkable - Paul was driven by a genuine love for God, even though it was completely misguided. His sincerity was real; his direction was wrong.
The Damascus Road
On the road to Damascus, armed with letters authorizing him to arrest Christians, everything changed. A light from heaven - brighter than the noonday sun - suddenly shone around him. Paul fell to the ground. And then he heard a voice:
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" - Acts 9:4
Paul asked the question that any honest seeker would ask:
"Who are You, Lord?" - Acts 9:5
And the answer shattered everything Paul thought he knew:
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." - Acts 9:5
In that moment, Paul realized something staggering. The Lord - Yahweh - is Jesus. The God he had been serving all his life was the very One whose followers he had been destroying. His entire world turned upside down.
The Famous Question
Trembling and astonished, Paul asked the question that should preoccupy every person embarking on evangelism:
"Lord, what do You want me to do?" - Acts 9:6
This is not a casual question. It is total surrender. Paul - the scholar, the leader, the man who always had answers - was now asking to be told what to do. He placed himself entirely in the hands of Christ. This is the posture of every true evangelist.
Humbled and Prepared
Christ sent Paul to Damascus, where he was discipled by a man named Ananias. Paul was baptized. He received the Holy Spirit. But then something surprising happened - Paul did not immediately begin his great missionary journeys. He spent approximately three years in preparation, in Arabia and Damascus, learning from the Lord.
And consider how Paul left Damascus when his life was threatened. He did not march out boldly through the gates. He was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall. Imagine the humiliation - this former leader, this powerful Pharisee, escaping like a fugitive in a basket. God was teaching Paul humility before He gave him authority.
Peter Walking on Water: A Picture of Evangelism
There is a moment in the Gospels that captures the essence of evangelism more vividly than almost any other. The disciples were in a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, and a great storm had come. The waves were high, the wind was against them, and they were afraid. Then in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the water.
The disciples were terrified, thinking it was a ghost. But Peter - impulsive, passionate Peter - said something extraordinary:
"Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." - Matthew 14:28
Christ said one word: "Come."
Peter got out of the boat. He stepped onto the water - the churning, storming, dangerous water - and he walked. He walked on water. As long as his eyes were fixed on Jesus, he walked on what should have been impossible.
But when Peter looked at the sea, when he saw the wind and the waves, he began to sink. He cried out, "Lord, save me!" And Jesus immediately reached out His hand, caught him, and said:
"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" - Matthew 14:31
Preaching is walking on high waves with no guarantees. When you step out of the boat - out of your comfort zone, out of what is familiar and safe - you are walking on water. There is nothing underneath you except the word of Christ. The moment you take your eyes off Him and look at the impossibility of the situation, you will sink. But as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus, you will walk where no one thought you could walk.
The boat represents comfort, security, the familiar. Evangelism means stepping out of the boat. It means risking. It means trusting that the same Christ who said "Come" will also catch you if you stumble.
Moses: It Is Never Too Late
If you think you have missed your calling, consider Moses. Moses did not discover his mission until he was eighty years old. Eighty. He had spent forty years in Pharaoh's palace and forty years in the wilderness of Midian. By the time God appeared to him at the burning bush, Moses thought his life was over. He was just a shepherd, watching someone else's sheep, waiting to die in obscurity.
But God had other plans. At the burning bush, God gave Moses responsibility for 600,000 people. The man who thought he was finished was given the greatest leadership role in the history of Israel.
It does not matter how old you are. It does not matter how long you have been sitting in the wilderness. God's timing is not your timing. The question is not whether the opportunity has passed - the question is whether you are willing to say, "Here I am, Lord. What do You want me to do?"
The Question That Never Ends
"Lord, what do You want me to do?" is not a question you ask once. It is a question for every season, every stage, every morning.
God might answer by pointing out a sin you need to repent of. He might change your routine. He might stop you for a season of concentrated prayer and preparation. He might send you to someone you never expected. He might ask you to wait. He might ask you to go immediately.
The preacher - the evangelist - is pliable clay in God's hands. You are not the potter. You are the clay. And the clay does not tell the potter what shape to take.
"But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand." - Isaiah 64:8
The prophet Isaiah describes this beautiful posture of readiness:
"The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned." - Isaiah 50:4
Morning by morning, God awakens you. Morning by morning, He opens your ear. Morning by morning, He gives you a word for someone who is weary. This is the life of the evangelist - not a single dramatic moment, but a daily, ongoing surrender to the question: "Lord, what do You want me to do?"
Conclusion
Peter came to Christ through a brother's invitation, through miracles, through a miraculous catch, through years of walking beside the Master. Paul came through a blinding light and a voice from heaven. Moses came through a bush that burned but was not consumed. Each path was different. Each preparation was unique. But each one arrived at the same place: complete surrender to God's will.
Do not compare your journey to anyone else's. Do not wait for a Damascus road experience if God is calling you through a still, small voice. Do not wait until you are eighty if God is speaking to you now.
The question is before you today. The same question Paul asked. The same question that transformed a fisherman into the rock of the Church and a persecutor into the apostle to the nations:
"Lord, what do You want me to do?"
Ask it sincerely, and then be ready - because God always answers.
Key Takeaways
- "Lord, what do You want me to do?" is the foundational question of every evangelist - it is a posture of total surrender to God's will
- St. Peter's journey shows that fascination with Christ, obedience to His word, and years of discipleship are all part of forming an evangelist
- St. Paul's conversion demonstrates that God can transform anyone - even a persecutor - into a powerful vessel for His kingdom
- Evangelism means stepping out of the boat of comfort and walking on water with your eyes fixed on Christ
- It is never too late to answer God's call - Moses received his mission at eighty years old
- The evangelist is pliable clay in God's hands, asking this question not once but every morning of his life
Dive Deeper
Resources coming soon.
To our God be all glory and honor, now and forever. Amen.