Dealing With The Lost (5 Of 5)

He was not a very active vice president, but he took great pleasure in presiding over the Senate.

One day, as he was presiding, one senator angrily told another senator to go, “straight to hell.”

The offended Senator openly complained to Coolidge as the presiding officer.

Coolidge was leafing through the book of rules as he made his complaint. He looked up from the book and replied: “Senator, I’ve looked through the rule book. YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO TO HELL!”

That is the good news that we have to share with the world. We have looked it up in God’s Book. No one has to go to hell.

We read in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

The greatest news that can enter the ears of a man is that God loves him and wants to save Him. He does not have to perish, he can be saved. Isn’t it great to share good news?

Illus: An elderly couple had raised their daughter and son and they had moved to another town hundreds of miles away.

The only time these old timers heard from either one of them was when they wanted something. To get them to come see them, they had to pay their way most of the time.

On her birthday, this dear old mother said, “Honey, for my birthday present the greatest news would be to hear that our son and daughter are coming to see us!”

This bothered her husband and he decided to do something about it. He called his son up and said, "I hate to ruin your day Bob, but your mother and I are going to a lawyer tomorrow and we are getting a divorce. Twenty-five years of misery is enough! I'm sick of her, and I'm sick of talking about this, so call your sister in Boston and tell her." Then he hung up!

Bob immediately called his sister, who was absolutely frantic upon hearing the news. She called her father. "You two are not getting a divorce!" she yelled. "Bob and I will be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a single thing, do you hear me?"

The old man hung up the phone and turned to his wife and said, “I have some good news to share with you! Our son and daughter will be coming tomorrow and they're paying their own way!"

We love to share good news, DON’T WE!

Illus: Lucy Martin, in her late 20’s, feared being an old maid. She finally met Billy and he proposed to her. She immediately went home and told her family she was getting married. She was so proud of being engaged that when she saw someone coming in her direction she would scratch her nose so they could see her engagement ring. And in case they walked passed her and looked at her from the back, she would rub the back of hair when they went by.

None of us like to hear any bad news, but we all like to hear GOOD NEWS! And the greatest news that can enter the ears of man is that the Lord loves Him and does not want him to perish!

Illus: Suppose you were on death row. What could be the greatest news you could receive? The greatest news would be for you to hear that the Governor just gave you a pardon AND YOU NOW ARE FREE!

WHY IS THE GOSPEL GOOD NEWS? The Bible says, in John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Did you get that? God’s Word says the lost man is condemned already. He is just waiting for the time he will be cast into Hell.

This is why the greatest news a lost person can receive is to be told they do not have to go to Hell, the Lord Jesus has PARDONED THEM!

• You can have everything this world has to give, but if you do not have Christ you have nothing.

• You may have more than enough money, great looks, great education, great family, but if you do not know Jesus Christ in a personal way, you have missed the point of this life.

The Lord said, in Mark 8:36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

God has called THE CHURCH TO REACH THE LOST! The church that is in tune with the Word of God is a soul-winning church.

I. LOST SOULS MATTER TO BELIEVERS