How To Lead People To Christ

INTRO.- ILL.- Two social workers were walking through a rough part of the city in the evening. They heard moans and cries for help from a back alley. Upon investigation, they found a semi-conscious man in a pool of blood.

"Help me, I’ve been mugged and beaten," he pleaded. The two social workers turned and walked away.

One remarked to her colleague, "You know the person that did this really needs help." Yes, but what about the mugged man? Had they forgotten about being a good Samaritan?

Are people really that blind to those who are hurting? Or it is that they just don’t care?

ILL.- I read a news item recently about the neglect of people. Minnesota Woman’s Cries for Help During Sexual Assault, August 24, 07. ST. PAUL, Minn. — A security video from an apartment hallway showed at least 10 witnesses who ignored a woman’s cries for help for more than an hour as a man beat and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors in Minnesota said.

The surveillance video clearly showed men and women looking out their apartment doors or starting to walk down the hallway before retreating as the woman was assaulted for nearly 90 minutes, police spokesman Tom Walsh said.

Police said they responded to a call of drunken behavior and found Somali immigrant Rage Ibrahim, 25, and a woman lying unconscious in the hallway early Tuesday. The woman’s clothing had been pulled up and she had fresh scratches on her face and blood on her thigh, according to the criminal complaint.

Can you believe it? People ignored that women who was being beaten and assaulted. Are we that heartless and uncaring about people?

Psalm 142:3-4 "When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me. Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life."

What about us? Do we truly care for anyone’s life?

Matthew 9:35-36 "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

WHEN HE SAW THE CROWDS, HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM. The heart of Jesus needs to grab our hearts so that we will have the same compassion for hurting people that He had!

What kind of hurting people are we talking about? Anybody who is hurting in any form. I realize that we can’t heal all the hurting people of the world, but we can touch some of those who are near us.

What about those around us who are hurting spiritually: that is, those who are obviously lost, without Christ? Can we not help them in some form? Can’t we do something?

Our text is the story about Philip and the eunuch. It’s the story of how one man sought to lead another man to Christ. And there are lessons for us in this story.

PROP.- Let’s see what Philip did to evangelize the eunuch and what we must do. We must:

1- Respond to God’s leading

2- Show genuine interest

3- Share the good news

4- Follow through to completion

I. RESPOND TO GOD’S LEADING

26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."

We must respond to God’s leading.

ILL.- I have some questions. Can you or could you do these things? How many of you know how to fill the church baptistery with water and know how to heat it? That is, do you know how to flip the switch that heats the water?

And how many of you know how to turn on the AC in the sanctuary when it is not regularly scheduled to come on?

And how many of you could turn on the Public Address system or in our church? I can hear someone say, “Sure, I can. You just flip a switch.” Yes, but which one and where?

And how many of you could prepare the Sunday bulletin each week? Do you know how it’s done? You might think, “Well, sure I can type out a few words and names,” but where? And how? And when? You may have an idea that it’s done in my office and on my computer but if I didn’t show you the particulars you might not be able to do it.