Building Bigger Hearts for Lost People
I would like to start with a multiple-choice question: Which of these would most likely transform the average sleepy, tradition-bound local church into a dynamic, fired-up, community of faith? Which of the following events?
A) Burning the hymnbooks, and switching over to worship choruses and a band with back-up singers;
B) Pitching the choir and switching over to MTV style programming for the first thirty minutes of every service;
C) Ditching the Pastors for doing all of the switching I just talked about;
D) Or, the conversion of fifteen seekers and the subsequent challenge of integrating them into the local church and growing them up.
That’s a no brainer! The answer is E! And I guarantee you that 15 brand new; baby Christians wandering around the average local congregation would ignite all kinds of conversations, all kinds of activity. It would force that once sleepy, little church into all kinds of new thoughts and prayers and activities.
I have been a student of Church Growth for the past 15 years, and I have seen some local churches do the strangest things to try to get out of their deeply formed spiritual rut. Most of what they try fails miserably.
By experience nothing gives a tired, old, comfortable church a jolt like the inundation of a batch of freshly redeemed people.
As Bill Hybels has said, "Dusty, old saints start to talk to these fired-up new believers, and it does wonders for their dusty, old souls. And before you know it, instead of the deacons fighting over what color to paint the church kitchen, they are asking God and each other, ’How are we going to get these new Christians grounded in the Word? How are we going to get them established in small groups for nurture and fellowship? How are we going to help them find their spiritual gifts so that they can serve with joy and effectiveness in the church?’"
Church leaders are really focused on the right priorities. Veteran believers are discipling and shepherding the "rookies" who are showing up. Everybody is buzzing about the new atmosphere of spiritual vitality they feel around the church. Everyone is developing a taste for seeing God touch more lives, and more lives in the future. And it begins to feel like the church is alive again, like the church has a future and a vision.
What started the ball rolling? What started the revolution in that church? Do you remember? Fifteen seekers coming to faith, a batch of freshly redeemed people wandering into the church that day.
Ever wonder what it was that ignited the first century church in Jerusalem. We read of the breathtakingly beautiful dynamics going on in the early church, Acts 2:42-47. We read about the people’s devotion to the Word of God. Fellowship, deep community, going on. Masks coming off. No more relational pretending. We read about the breaking of bread and prayer, vital worship; the rich caring for the poor, people sharing their property and possession; a spirit of unity and love; eating in one another’s homes. We read Acts 2, and we stand in awe at what was going on in that early church.
What was it that transformed a semi-defeated Bible study group meeting in an upper room in Jerusalem into this highly energized, Holy Spirit empowered, life-giving local church? The inundation of 3000 new converts on Pentecost Day. You think about that. You talk about a spiritual adrenaline rush.
Sometimes when I read these texts I think those early leaders had no choice but to call an all hands on deck staff meeting to figure out how they were going to integrate all these baby believers into this fellowship. How are we going to establish them in the faith? How are we going to grow them up?
When you read the book of Acts, and you see what God did through that first church, you will stand in awe at what God did through a local fellowship. That local fellowship became the launching pad for the spread of the church around the world.
If you are like me when you read Acts, and you look at a churches vital signs, signs like those mentioned, you find yourself saying, "God, I want more of that kind of spiritual activity in my church. I would give anything to witness the explosive power of the Holy Spirit in my congregation. I’d give anything for my church to become an Acts 2 church."
To which God responds, "I would too."
But then when you ask the follow-up question: "How can we get started? How can the revolution get going?"
I think the answer from heaven will be "Start by training and inspiring those who have accepted the Good News of Christ to share that news with others who have not yet accepted it. Build bigger hearts for lost people. Just doing that begins the revolution."
Without changing the pulpit, without burning the hymnbooks, without assassinating the choir, you can be part of a revolution in the local church.
Let’s go back to the very basics, and let’s make sure that we all have our heads on straight about transforming lost people into maturing followers of Christ. We’ll just get all of the mystery out of the room.
Here is what I am going to do. I am going to give five descriptions of someone who has a heart for lost people. And your job will be to assess your affinity to the five statements. By that I mean I want you to check your pulse rate. If it tends to go up then that’s a sign that you probably are in tune with this. If I am talking about this and it tends to go down then that’s a bad sign. If I am talking about this and you say, "I think those thoughts. I feel those feelings. That’s me he’s talking about" well that is high affinity. If you can relate to some of it than that is kind of midlevel. If you can’t relate to any of it than that is low affinity.
Okay, let’s start.
1) Someone with a heart for lost people feels a special affinity toward people who are far from God.
Let me explain this carefully. First, they discern where a person is spiritually. But here is the salient observation: When they discern that a person is outside of the family of God, even if they discover that they are way outside of the family of God, they are not repulsed by that discovery. On the contrary, they are sort of drawn to them even more. Somewhere inside of them they say, "Who knows? Maybe our paths crossed for a reason. Maybe God wants to use me to point this person to faith. Maybe an adventure has just started, and I get to be a part of it."
Whenever I talk to believers and they complain about all the nasty pagans that they have to hangout with at work, and they say, "They tell the wrong kinds of jokes. They frequent the wrong kinds of places. They vote the wrong way." I conclude right away, "They probably don’t have a large heart for lost people."
People with a heart for lost people find themselves very much at home with people far from God, sometimes more at home than with sticky, old believers. They aren’t overly put-off by an unbeliever’s language or lifestyle because a person with a heart for lost people understands that this new person is just living consistent with their current set of values. Why should he or she be acting differently? They don’t know Christ. Why should they be expected to be living a Christian lifestyle? This makes a great deal of sense.
Have you ever noticed how comfortable Jesus was with people far from his father? Did you ever notice in Luke 15, which precipitated the telling of the stories of the lost sheep, lost coin, and the wayward son, the Pharisees are kind of put-out. And there is this kind of wonderful phrase in Luke 15:1-2, where the Pharisees are talking among themselves. And they say, "Not only does he enjoy hanging out with sinners, but he even enjoys eating dinner with them."
You have to understand something about Middle Eastern culture. When you arrived for dinner, you were there for an event. You arrived at mid-afternoon, seven, eight, nine, ten courses. You were there for the night. So the Pharisees say, "It’s enough that he tolerates a few discussions with this riff-raff, but he even enjoys it. He has dinner with them."
Another time, Jesus was really being railed upon by the Pharisees. And they were trying to think of how they could stick it to him with a criticism, and they say, "You, you, you friend of sinners." And I think Jesus said, "And the problem is?"
Jesus says, "How am I ever going to share the gospel with anybody without building a relationship and trust. I love them. I want to spend time with them. Guilty as charged."
First, they discern where a person is spiritually. And when they discern that a person is outside of the family of God they are not repulsed. And thirdly, they look forward to the possibility of spending time with these people because they feel that just maybe God is up to something, and the person with a heart for lost people would not want to miss out on whatever it is.
Is this you? How is your affinity to this first point? Real high, if you’re saying, "I’ve never heard it put in those kinds of terms before, but that’s me." Are you somewhere in the middle, or are you already in trouble?
Okay, number two:
2) Someone with a heart for lost people has a God-given intuition of how to develop spiritual interest in the lives of unbelievers.
The classic Biblical example is of course the Apostle Paul who is visiting the city of Athens, and his heart is so troubled by the spiritual chaos, the false ideologies and the idol worship that is there. One day, he walks to where philosophers banter about the whys and wherefores of life.
How does he broach the subject of Christianity? Does he hand out cheap looking pamphlets? Does he rent a loud speaker and preach, "Repent, you ivory towered creeps?"
Very winsomely, Paul walked into their world, into their square, and he commends them first. He says, "I want to commend you all for being thoughtful, intellectually alive people." He says, "I want to commend you for having genuine spiritual curiosity." He builds a bridge with these people. He says, "I just got off the boat, and I can tell you people take religion seriously. I even noticed that you have an altar to the unknown god, just to make sure that you didn’t offend one that you didn’t completely come to understand. You are really doing it here. Now, in case, the god you worried about that you haven’t met yet, in case that is the God who changed my life a while back, would you mind if I told you about that God. You know, an interesting thing happened on the road to Damascus." And now he is off and running.
People with a heart for lost people have come to learn about building trust, and building bridges. They learn, over time, how to start spiritual conversations. Even more importantly, they learn when to start spiritual conversations, and when not to.
People without a heart for lost people try to memorize certain statements and certain phrases. And then they try to shoehorn them into conversations where they just don’t fit. The person on the other end wonders, "Where did that come from? We were just talking about golf, and he comes up with this weird thing."
People without a heart for lost people rely far to heavily on formulas that make unbelievers feel more like projects than people.
Think about Jesus with the woman at the well. He’s at a well. He starts by talking about water. Then he introduces her to a concept of which she has never heard, living water.
The point is this: a person with a heart for lost people lets the Holy Spirit custom design a strategy for reaching each individual for Christ.
Someone with a heart for lost people has a God-given intuition of how to develop spiritual interest in the lives of unbelievers. Just as importantly, someone with a heart for lost people knows when to talk about spiritual matters, and knows when not to. Is this you, or does everything I have just described just seem foreign to you? Mark that down - kind of high, mid-level affinity, or low.
Third,
3) Someone with a heart for lost people thoroughly enjoys the entire transformation process.
That is from the beginning point of seeking all the way to the point of baptism.
They enjoy that first meeting. They enjoy the first conversation about God. They never forget it. They enjoy the doubts that get expressed. They enjoy helping that person sort out the misconceptions of Christianity that person may be carrying. They even enjoy the setbacks that come. They enjoy the whole deal. And when the weeks, and sometimes months or years, lead up to that unforgettable day when life’s heart opens up to the unbelievable love of Jesus, life doesn’t get much better than that.
What I am saying is that it doesn’t matter to a person with a heart for lost people where the relationship is. The whole deal is precious and holy and feels like an adventure.
Ever read two little verses in Acts 24; vs. 26, 27. Paul is in prison, falsely accused. He is under tremendous pressure. He knows that he might get convicted and put to death for his faith. He has a right to have an attitude is what I am saying. But in spite of all that, He gives his testimony in front of a Roman governor names Felix. And in Acts 24:26, 27 it says that for two years Paul met privately with Felix to discuss spiritual matters, two years.
There is no indication from scripture that Felix ever wound up in the kingdom. But I’ll bet you could ask Paul, when you get to heaven, if he begrudged that investment of time. You ask anyone with a real heart for lost people if any amount of time spent with a seeker is wasted, every one will say, "Not on your life. I live for those conversations. It doesn’t matter how many lunches and dinners we have had to spend together. When I am in the game, using my gifts, talking about things, eternity hanging in the balance, that is enough for me!"
Do you have affinity with this one? High, medium or low?
4) Someone with a heart for lost people has supreme confidence in the power of the gospel to transform lives.
Paul says in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation."
I challenge all of you to read the New Testament and count the number of times Jesus and others tell people like us to preach the gospel, share the Good News of salvation.
When the average Christian reads those words, he thinks, "Oh, the Gospel, that’s a good thing. It should be spread, and hopefully when it is spread it works. Hopefully some folks would respond."
You can guess pretty quickly, who has a heart for lost people by who is willing to bet the farm on the power of the Gospel to change lives.
Where does this supreme confidence in the power of the Gospel come from? I think part of it is that people with a heart for lost people remember the power of the gospel in their own life. I think they are the people who can live and relive, again and again, in vibrant color, what it was like when the gospel changed their life.
It was twenty years ago, when I was seventeen years old, that the gospel changed my life. And I can still remember what I thought and how I felt. And it came through a realization of one verse of scripture, "I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it to the full." And I realized, "I don’t have to try to find happiness and worthwhile living. That is offered to me as a gift. I don’t have to search anymore for it."
People with a heart for lost people have a supreme confidence in the power of the gospel to transform lives. It begins with their remembrance of how the gospel transformed their lives. But with each person they see come to Christ their confidence goes up and up and up.
Almost twelve years ago, Laira and I had the opportunity to go and take part in a Billy Graham Crusade in Little Rock, Arkansas. When I got to the stadium I noticed that the place was already pretty full. Then I noticed that there was a spot right down front where another 500 chairs could have been set up. Come to find out they leave that spot for all of the people who would respond to the Gospel and come down front. And later on when that spot was filled with 4000 people, I just marveled at the faith of that team, and their confidence in the power of the Gospel.
So how are you doing on this one? Do you have a supreme, even increasing, confidence in the power of the Gospel? How is your affinity to this one: high, medium or low.
Okay, last one:
5) Someone with a heart for lost people celebrates conversion with a raucous sense of joy.
Joy way out of proportion with people with other spiritual gifts. John 15:10: "There is joy all across heaven when a single sinner repents." You know heaven has a sense of this disproportionate joy thing. But it has been said, "No one laughs louder. No one cries harder. No one parties hardier than an evangelist who sees someone come to Christ."
The person with a heart for lost people experiences a multiplied payoff when he or she sees someone whom he has pointed toward Christ actually crosses the line of faith. Why? Because, track this thing with me and see if it isn’t true of you.
The person with a heart for lost people thinks back to the first time that the two people met. And he or she remembers how much faith was required to believe that a man with that dark a background, or a woman with that much junk in her background could wind up as a worshiper.
They remember back to that first meeting when they chose to believe in the power of Christ to change even this guy, even that guy, that split second moment of faith. And the believer steps out to see if that just might happen.
They remember extending the hand of relationship the very first time to that man or woman far from God. They remember building that relationship, establishing trust, waiting for the Holy Spirit to give them a green light on talking about spiritual matters. They remember that first spiritual conversation that really showed some movement. They remember the first questions. They remember the first time they actually got to lay out the plan of salvation on a napkin in the restaurant, or in a conversation in the front seat of a car. They remember sharing the gospel a second, third, and a fourth time. And the person with a heart for lost people remembers the phone call, or the note, or the knock at the door, when they answer find the person smiling from ear to ear, saying, "I did it. I opened the door and invited Christ into my life."
So how about that one?
Conclusion -
As we draw to a conclusion, I want to speak to those of you who didn’t score yourselves as highly as you thought you might. You are not off of the hook. You can still follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, with regard to witnessing and pointing the way toward Christ. You can still be used by God to point people to Christ. It may not come as easily for you or as naturally, but you can still make a tremendous difference in the lives of your family and friends. You can still pray for their salvation. You can still be used somehow, someway. You can take advantage of courses like the Lighthouse Training or Mobilized for Mission. You can invite people to attend outreach events and Sunday services. You are still called to be his ambassadors.
My final words are to those who have just realized that you have a heart for lost people. As a matter of fact, let’s just do this. If you are pretty sure that you have a heart for lost people just raise your hand for a second so we can mark this moment. Now listen: Turn over heaven and earth to build a bigger heart for lost people.
As I said, at the beginning of the message: Realize that you have been given the awesome privilege along with every other believe to create that river of freshly redeemed people and cause renewal to happen. You are the ones who should be causing the revolution to happen.
The opportunity to share the message of Christ is one of the most precious entrustment, one of the highest state challenges of the kingdom, to rescue people from judgment, and to introduce them to the one who’s nail pierced hands are outstretched for them. So I say, "Do your job. Do your job."
