Subject: Evangelizing The Lost
Scripture: Matthew 5.13-16/Psalm 126.5-6
Sermon: “Does Anyone Care?”
Scope: This sermon should challenge every Christian to share their faith intentionally.
Summary: We need Christians who understand that the Church is not functioning properly until she carries the gospel to the condemned world.
Segue: Let us explore some actions God has asked us to take in order to get the gospel to the lost.
Introduction: A family was vacationing in Montana visiting grandparent. The grandmother took the children for a ride through the town and as she drove past a small church she pointed it out to her grandchildren and said that is the First Baptist Church. Her eight-year-old grandson replied, “It must be a franchise, because we’ve got one o those in our town too.”
There are nearly 42,000 Southern Baptist Churches in America today. Nearly 30,000 of those churches are plateaued or declining. There are 15.9 million Southern Baptists in America today. Yet, 14.3 million of those never share a verbal witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask you today, Does America need another Baptist Church? Does America need another house of worship with no outlet for evangelism?
America has enough feel good theology. We have enough social Christianity. We have more than enough health and wealth preachers in our country today. What America needs is a group of people who would be willing to take the road less traveled. We need a group of people who would be willing to be real with their faith. We need a group of people who will be willing to take their faith from the sanctuary into the street. We need a group of people who would be willing to be the Church f the Living God. We need a group of people who would be bold enough to stand firm upon the words of our Savior in Matthew 5.13-16:
You are the salt o the earth; but if the slat loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is them good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
We need a group of people that understand that there is more to worshiping God than a Sunday morning service. We need a group of people who realize that the Church is not the Church until they carry the message of the cross to the condemned of this world.
The question is “Does anyone care?” Does anyone care that there are thirsty people at the water whole of this world drinking from a well that will never satisfy? Does anyone care that there are people wasting away on the pleasures of the flesh that can never bring fulfillment? Does anyone care that their friends and families are walking headlong off the cliff of sin and plunging into an eternal lake of fire? Does any one care that hundreds of people will have died by the time we get home today or that many if not most of them will spend an eternity in hell? Does anyone care? God Does! He card so much that He gave His only Son to save you and me from hell. He cared so much that He sent someone to warn you of the dangers of a life with out Him. God cares and He did something about it. If we call ourselves Christian then we ought to care as well. If God has saved us then we ought to care. If we care then what are we doing about it? God has told us to do something about the lost condition of our fellow human beings. Let’s look at what we ought to do about this crisis of faith in our society.
I. We are to “Go”.
We no longer live in the era of come and see. This is the day of go and tell. Too many Churches today get settled, satisfied, and sour in their comfort and shut off from the world. We have no excuses for not going. Americans make 1.1 billion trips per day and travel approximately 11 billion miles per day. We are a people on the Go. God has commanded His people to Go and “make disciples”. We are to:
A. Go forth from God.
B. Go forth for God.
C. Go forth with God.
II. We are to “Sow”
We have been challenged to sow the seed of the Word of God. In order to sow the seed one must first receive the seed. Once the seed has been received by the sower then the soil must be prepared so that the seed can be planted. Once the seed is planted the sower must become the gardener or appoint another to tend the garden as it grows. This process includes three steps:
A. One must first Bear the seed.
B. One must then Break up the soil.
C. One must finally Broad cast the seed.
III. We are to “Weep”
Weeping has to do with the brokenness of ones heart for the lost of the world. It carries with it the idea of prayerfully agonizing over the state of lost in the world. In order for one to weep one must first have a deep seated passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. From that passion for Christ will arise a great compassion for the lost and a challenge that will compel one to become an active laborer in the harvest field. This task is seen in three areas:
A. Pray for the Lost.
B. Pray for the Laborers.
C. Pray for Courage.
IV. We are to “Reap”
If we will God, Sow, and Weep God promises that we will find that the harvest is plentiful and we will reap along the way. We will reap where we have not sown. Others will come behind us and reap where we have sown. God will send the harvest. As we reap we must remember three things:
A. It is God’s produce not ours.
B. It is God’s plan not ours.
C. It is God’s promise not ours.
Conclusion: God has called us to Go. Are you? I challenge you to dare to go where no man has gone before. Charles Haddon Surgeon said it best when he said, “The most successful servants of god have been those who have not built upon the foundation of others, but have ventured to break up new soil. Whenever we have broken up fresh ground – whenever we have gone some place not usually occupied for worship, when we have got a new piece of unbroken prairie – what wonderful results have always followed!” Go break new ground for the Kingdom of God!.
