Compassion for the Lost
September 22, 2013 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: Jesus came to save sinners; our focus should be directing them to the Lord.
Focus Passage: Matthew 9:9-13
Supplemental Passage: Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)
Introduction: My friend tells the story of joining a mega-church many years ago. After the service was over, he went up front to meet the pastor, but was instead met by a member of the church’s security staff. The security officer asked what he wanted, because he saw the pastor leave out a side door and my friend was going to follow him. He said he wanted to meet the pastor. The security staff told him that the pastor wasn’t available after services to meet with anyone. If he wanted to meet the pastor he could make an appointment or meet him at the monthly “Meet the Pastor” meetings. My friend was horrified to know that he couldn’t even approach the pastor of his church.
I. Be Available to the Lost
a. Jesus invited Matthew to follow Him
b. Jesus welcomed everyone around Him, but resisted the “self-righteous religious” types
c. We must go where the sinners are, but not sin ourselves
d. We cannot hide ourselves away in monasteries or convents; we must be in the world but not of the world
II. Be Friendly to the Lost
a. Jesus was eating with sinners
b. There was conversation with the sinners
c. We must engage the lost without condemning them
d. Many lost people have never felt God’s love
III. Be Evangelistic to the Lost
a. Jesus said that He came as a physician to the sick
b. We must treat sinners as if they are drowning or dying or in great peril
c. We must have an urgency for the lost
d. We must have compassion on the lost
