INTRO.- Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Let’s memorize this verse. Let’s get it deep in our hearts, minds and souls. Why? BECAUSE THIS IS WHY JESUS CAME AND IT’S ALSO WHY WE’RE HERE, whether we realize this or not. We’ve been bought and paid for by the blood of Christ. Now we’re supposed to do His bidding in this world. We are supposed to live for Him and not for self. And He is greatly interested in seeing lost people come to Him and be saved!
Let’s say it again: For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. Easy verse to remember, but hard to do in life.
Jesus came to do His Father’s will and God’s dominant will is for all men is to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:4) Jesus came to save the lost, that is, lost people, lost souls. This assumes that He believed they were lost. How were they lost? LOST IN SIN.
Sin is the big problem in this world. Sin is our big problem whether we want to own up to it or not. Sin is what got Adam and Eve booted out of the garden. And sin is what keeps people out of God’s heaven! How did they sin? They disobeyed God. They let Satan, the old deceiver, dupe them into believing a lie. He lied to them because he was a liar from the beginning. And people are easily duped into sinning today by the evil one and by evil people of this world.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Sin is falling short of God’s glory and His holiness. We’re sinners and in need of divine mercy.
How can we overcome sin? How can we be saved from our sins? How can we have them taken away? How can we experience victory in life? Only in Jesus.
John 1:29 When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” And Jesus is the only who can take away our sins!
ILL.- Sam Shoemaker summed up the situation this way: "In the Great Commission the Lord has called us to be--like Peter--fishers of men. We’ve turned the commission around so that we have become merely keepers of the aquarium. Occasionally I take some fish out of your fishbowl and put them into mine, and you do the same with my bowl. But we’re all tending the same fish."
There is nothing wrong with tending fish once you have them, but we shouldn’t stop there! We don’t exist for ourselves! We need to catch more fresh fish instead of swapping fish that have already been caught! We need to win more people to Christ!
ILL.- My Maxima car has three different modes for the automatic transmission. There is drive, which is smooth as silk and just keeps going and going like the Energizer bunny. There is the Ds mode or Sport mode, which is what I call my, “Zoom, zoom” mode. It shifts through six different gears, going zoom, zoom, zoom! Then there is the manual shift mode which can be manually shifted through six different gears, but without a clutch like we had on cars in the past and a few still do.
Please realize this: There are six gears for forward motion but only one neutral gear and one reverse gear. So which do you suppose the manufacturer thinks a person should do the most? IT’S OBVIOUS THAT THE CAR MUST GO FORWARD TO MAKE PROGRESS.
That’s what it was designed for and that’s also what OUR MAKER designed us for, FORWARD MOTION. And so with the church. He designed us for forward motion, not reversal and not neutral gear, doing nothing. Jesus said to go and make disciples!
PROP.- Let’s get to the nitty gritty of the matter. How are we are going to seek and save the lost? Let me share some simple but powerful tools for bringing people to Christ.
1- Pray fervently
2- Behave spiritually
3- Look compassionately
4- Speak sincerely
I. PRAY FERVENTLY
Romans 10:1-4 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Paul said, “My prayer to God is for the Israelites to be saved.” WHAT IS YOUR PRAYER TO GOD? Is it for people? For your own family members? For your friends and neighbors?
Paul said they believed in God but they were ignorant about righteousness that comes from God. This sounds much like people today. Many people believe in God but they know little about Jesus and the righteousness that comes by faith in Him.
ILL.- I had a preacher friend say to me one time, “Where in the Bible does it say that we are supposed to pray for people to come to Christ?” I would say, RIGHT HERE!
My prayer to God. Is this your prayer to God? For people to be saved? Do you have any people on your prayer list, asking for them to get convicted about the truth of Christ? Your list doesn’t have to be on paper but it must be in your heart and on your mind.
Colossians 4:2-4 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.”
Praying for an open door sounds like praying for an open door to someone’s heart. Or maybe praying for an opportunity to speak the message. Have you prayed that way? “Lord, give me an opportunity to speak to my aunt or uncle or brother or cousin or grandchild about Jesus.”
Matthew 7:11 “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
If God is interested in giving us good gifts when we ask of Him, how much greater is He interested when we ask Him to save someone! He is far more interested in giving the gift of
someone’s salvation than anything else we might ask for.
ILL.- George Mueller said that, in 1844, five friends were laid on his heart. He began to pray for them to come to Christ. Eighteen months passed away before one of them was converted to Christ. He prayed on for five years more, and another was converted. At the end of twelve-and-a-half years, a third was converted. And forty years later he was still praying for the other two, without missing one single day.
But they were not yet converted. He felt encouraged, however, to continue in prayer. And it was said that those last two friends came to Christ following his death. DOES IT PAY TO PRAY FOR THE SALVATION OF OTHERS? What do you think?
II. BEHAVE SPIRITUALLY
Romans 13:12-14 “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.”
BEHAVE DECENTLY like you would act in the day time. Most folks act better in the day time than they do at night. That’s why everyone needs to go home early instead being out, roaming the streets at night.
ILL.- Preacher Wayne Smith from Lexington, KY, used to say, “When it gets dark you should be home and in bed. That’s why God made the dark.” Well, it may not be quite that extreme, of course. But often, night time activities do tend to lead to bad behavior in some people or worse behavior. People don’t often do bad things in broad daylight but under the cover of darkness.
We all need to behave decently and especially, in the presence of God or His light. And we’re supposed to let our light shine, but there is no light for the dark world when it comes to INDECENT behavior.
Colossians 4:5 “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”
I Peter 3:16 “Keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” How can you have a clear conscious without good behavior? You can’t.
ILL.- I saw an article on the internet last week entitled, “Whose watching you online?” It read: Don’t look now, but you’re being tracked — some might say stalked — whenever you go online.
Information about the sites you visit, the things you buy and the topics you search is used to build a detailed profile about you. In most cases, this is done without your knowledge or consent.
While we may not like it, it’s happening. But it’s not JUST happening on the internet. IT’S ALSO HAPPENING OUT IN THE WORLD EVERY DAY! That is, people are watching you all the time! They are watching you at work, while you’re shopping at Wal-mart, while doing business in the bank, wherever you go and whatever you do. And our behavior speaks loudly to people, BUT WHAT DOES IT SAY? And does it point to Christ?
ILL.- As most of you know, I still go to the Craighead Nursing Center three times a week even though our Miss Billie has passed on to glory. But, after she passed I kind of missed going to the nursing home because I got so acquainted with the people so I started going back 3 days a week at noon. And let me tell you, THOSE PEOPEL ARE WATCHING ME, FOR SURE! They see every move I make. Just because they’re in a nursing home it doesn’t mean they are deaf, dumb and blind!
100 year old Mrs. Doyle will often look at me and say, “Did you preach today?” Or “Is this Sunday?” Then there is Mrs. Bertie Woody who doesn’t seem to miss a trick. One day and she and her roommate were eating lunch and had just had their hair fixed. I said, “You girls look so nice with your hair fixed.” Bertie said, “Yes and we want to go out with you.” I said, “I can’t do that. I’m married.” Bertie said, “Well, we weren’t going to take you away from your wife.” PEOPLE ARE WATCHING YOU ALL THE TIME.
I met the Administrator, Karen Clark, when I asked about the possibility of baptizing Mrs. Valine Hopkins who had been Miss Billie’s roommate, which I did some time back. Come to find out, Karen lives on the same street that Elaine and I do, Hunters Ridge. One day Karen smiled and said, “You can come by and do yard work any time you want.”
As I went in one day I passed by the room where Karen and some of the workers eat lunch. I paused and said, “Karen, I raked the leaves in your yard.” NOW HERE’S THE KICKER.
She said, “Uh, I believe you are a minister aren’t you?” (Meaning, “Are you telling me the truth?”) She was smiling when she said those words, but boy, she got me! She humbled me and I thought, “I’d better watch what I say in the future!”
I was joking and she knew it BUT SHE STILL GOT ME. When I left the nursing home that day, the receptionist had heard this conversation and said, “You better go get your rake!”
People are watching us all the time. They are watching, listening and observing our behavior in this world. And good behavior is a good witness for Christ. Bad behavior just turns people off to Christ and His church.
III. LOOK COMPASSIONATELY
Matthew 9:35-37 “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. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Jesus looked with compassion on hurting people. HE COULD SEE THEIR HURT BUT DO WE?
Luke 7:12-14 “As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”
When Jesus saw that grieving mother, HIS HEART WENT OUT TO HER. Does this tell you anything about how we should feel toward hurting, grieving people? Any time. Any where.
Luke 19:1-6 1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Have you ever seen anyone “up a tree” that needed help? That is, maybe they are “up a tree” or between “a rock and a hard place” in life and need help?
ILL.- I remember when I was just a new convert while working at Safeway in Joplin, MO, around 1964-65. There was another young man working at Safeway who had gotten a girl pregnant. As best I remember, he felt like he should marry her and did, but they were having a tough time in life, financially and otherwise. I got acquainted with him and we often talked after we got off work. We’d sit in my car and visit. It was pretty obvious that he felt somewhat “lost” as far as life was concerned in several ways.
WHAT SHOULD I DO? I didn’t have any money to give him so I gave him the best I had to offer. I talked to him about Jesus and discovered that he believed but he had never surrendered his life to Christ. He had never publicly confessed his faith in Christ, repented of his sins and been baptized. So I talked to him about these things and encouraged him to give his life to Jesus. And Jesus wants us to be looking for people who are “up a tree” and don’t know what to do or where to turn because of the confusion and frustration of life. WE NEED TO LOOK COMPASSIONATELY AT PEOPLE.
IV. SPEAK SINCERELY
Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Let your speech be gracious, not rude, not crude, not uncaring, not salty or profane. Our speech tells a lot about who we are and whose we are! We should be caught up in praising the Lord and caught praising Him by the people around us. Has anyone around you at work ever heard you speak honest, sincere words of praise?
I Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Always be prepared to speak for Christ. Be quick to speak for Christ.
ILL. - Preacher D. L. Moody made an covenant with God that he would witness for Christ to at least one person each day. One night, about ten o’clock, he realized that he had not yet witnessed; so he went out in to the street and spoke to a man standing by a lamppost, asking him, "Are you a Christian?"
The man flew into a violent rage and threatened to knock Moody into the gutter. Later, that same man went to an elder in the church and complained that Moody was "doing more harm in Chicago than ten men were doing good."
The elder begged Moody to temper his zeal with knowledge. Three months later, Moody was awakened at the YMCA by a man knocking at the door. It was the man he had witnessed to.
"I want to talk to you about my soul," he said to Moody. He apologized for the way he had treated Moody and said that he had had no peace ever since that night on Lake Street when Moody witnessed to him. Moody led the man to Christ and he became a zealous worker in the Sunday school.
Sometimes it pays to speak up for Christ but too often, we don’t say anything to anybody.
CONCLUSION-----------------
ILL.- Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn’t able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector.
Kreisler made his way to the new owner’s home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea.
"Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector’s emotions were deeply stirred.
"I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It’s yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it."
Take it to the world and that’s exactly what we need to do with Jesus! Instead of being selfish with our salvation in Christ, we need to take him to the world and share Him.
Will you, please, think about people more? Think about pointing them to Jesus? We all have family members and friends who need to be saved. And it’s the job that Jesus passed on to us.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
