Top 12 Songs of the Lukewarm Church
1. Blest Be The Tie That Doesn't Cramp My Style
2. Pillow of Ages, Fluffed for Me
3. I Surrender Some
4. I'm Fairly Certain That My Redeemer Lives
5. Sit Up, Sit Up For Jesus
6. Take My Life and Let Me Be
7. What An Acquaintance We Have In Jesus
8. Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following
9. He's Quite a Bit To Me
10. Oh, How I Like Jesus
11. Fill My Spoon, Lord
12. It Is My Secret What God Can Do
In 1980 a young man from Rwanda was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and he was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:
"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.
I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear."
I) Cheering From The Sidelines?
As a church, we've done a lot of talking, but not enough moving. We've been talking a good game, but instead standing on the sidelines hiding behind the other players, or even worse, just hanging out in the stands simply cheering on the team. The key area that we are failing in is witnessing to the lost.
Folks, the Christian walk is like a football game. It's not a contact sport, it's what Turtle? It's a collision sport. You and I have a vital, important mission and we have to deliver the tough message. It is a message that may hurt more than getting hit by Troy Polamalu on a quarterback blitz.
This morning I'm going to go back through the method by which we are to witness everyone, and what I'd like you to do is to get a copy of this message on CD, and listen to it over and over and get the idea of how to witness. Then—get into the game!
Too often, we are afraid to witness to the lost. Some people say that it just isn't their style, their gift, their talent to share their faith.
But let me ask you this—If your friend was dying a long, slow death and you could, at no monetary cost to him, give him the cure so he could live, would you do it?
2 Cor 5:11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. (NKJ)
Now think about this—this lifetime is only an average of 70 years, according to the Bible. I'm 48 years old, so statistically I've only got 23 years left, and I've been saved 11 so that means that I probably only have less than 2/3 of my saved life to witness to the lost. It's time to get into the game.
Now you might be 12 or you might be 30 or you might be 78 and we all know that life could end tomorrow for us. It is our duty to witness, to be soul winners, as we don't know when our lives are going to cut short and we also don't know when someone else will lose their life.
Time is of the essence, and we can't afford to wait until tomorrow! Tomorrow may never come!
II) The Gospel In 40 Minutes
I'm rarely at a loss for words, as you know, and sometimes that's to my great disadvantage. But today, I'm going for the record—I'm going to try real hard to share the gospel message in 40 minutes, maybe less., This way you can see that it's not the most difficult thing that you will ever learn to do but it does take some knowledge.
III) The Tough Question
Of all of the questions that I ask people, the most popular is what? Can I ask you a tough question?
The second most popular question is what? If you died today, do you know for sure you will go to heaven?
IV) Are You A Good Person?
The third most popular question is what? What's for dinner… No, seriously, it is this:
Matt 19:16 "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" (NKJ)
What was Jesus' response?
Matt 19:17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." (NKJ)
Key point: God doesn't have the same measure of good and evil that we do. (West Greene Water)
V) God's Standard of Good and Evil:
Deut 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He. (NKJ)
Key Point: God doesn't use a bell curve in salvation
Prov 17:15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD. (NKJ)
Illustration: Hepatitis C blood in tanker car; mouse pellets in cake
Heaven is perfect place, and God is holy (separate) God.
VI) God's Court System
Sin: Anything You Think, Say, or Do that is against God's Law (AW Tozer—rebels and the disobedient)
God's Standard of Conduct
10 Commandments (not the 10 guidelines, commandments!)
Exodus 20
VII) We're All Guilty
Rom 3:10-12
10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." (NKJ)
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,(NKJ)
Rom 6:23a For the wages of sin is death,
VIII) Two Judgments—Seat vs throne
2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.(NKJ)
Rev 20:11-15
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
(NKJ)
Hell (scriptures—separation from God—death)
2 Pet 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; (NKJ)
Matt 13:49-50
49 "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,
50 "and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Heaven (scriptures—united with God--life)
Ps 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (NKJ)
Dan 12:2-3
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. (NKJ)
Which do you choose?
IX) The Solution
Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJ)
Jesus' fourth saying on cross
Matt 27:46
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (NKJ)
Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NKJ)
X) What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Acts 16:30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"(NKJ)
Count the Cost—Matt 7:13
Matt 7:13-14
13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (NKJ)
Repent—Acts 2:38; 2 Cor 7:10
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (NKJ)
2 Cor 7:10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. (NKJ)
Believe—John 3:16
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (NKJ)
Receive—Romans 6:23
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJ)
Become—Rom 10:9, 10
Rom 10:9-10
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Letter from an atheist to Evangelist Ray Comfort:
Ray,
You are really convinced that you've got all the answers. You've really got yourself tricked into believing that you're 100% right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you're right, as you say you are, and believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your 'loving' god created, yet you stand by and do nothing.
If you believe one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unreacheable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That's equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You're just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that 'walk' signal will shine your way across the road.
Think about it. Imagine the horrors Hell must have in store if the bible is true. You're just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you're right then you're an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring.
James Franz
