Today’s Scripture reading is from Romans 10:1-15 (NLT)
“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.
“For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with Himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.
“For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God. Salvation Is for Everyone.
“For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.
“But faith’s way of getting right with God says, ‘Don’t say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven?” (to bring Christ down to earth)’. And don’t say, “Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).
“In fact, it says, ‘The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.’ And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
“For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.’
“Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
“But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?
“And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’”
May the Lord open the ears of our hearts to hear what He has to say to us today!
Let’s look again at Romans 10:14
“But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?”
Now, that’s a pretty good set of questions, isn’t it?
You almost need to take the questions as statements in reverse
They need to be told about Jesus
They need to believe that Jesus is Lord
They need to call on His name for salvation
And verse 13 says:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
There is a TV show that I like to watch. It is called “Flashpoint.”
This is a unit called a Strategic Response Unit
Whenever they are called at least one life is on the line.
It is NOT a show where they go in with guns blazing, kill the bad guys and then go home as if nothing happened.
When interacting with the people involved they have a three point plan:
Connect, Respect, Protect and often as they leave the station the leader will say, “Let’s keep the peace.”
Connect, Respect, Protect. The very first time I heard that I thought,
“What a great model for reaching those who do not know Jesus, those who are in danger of losing their immortal souls to a lost eternity!”
Now, obviously, this sermon is targeted to those who already know Jesus as the One who has already saved them from sin and hell. And, if that describes you then this is for you and for me as well!
Connect!
Really! I don’t really care for the term “no brainer” but this really is a “no brainer”!
Romans 10:14b
‘How can they hear unless someone tells them?”
According to one count, the gospels record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple; four in the synagogues and 122 were out with the people in the mainstream of life.
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Jimmy Carter Illustration:
Jimmy Carter, in his autobiography WHY NOT THE BEST? shared an incident that made him aware of his lack of witnessing to people.
Each year the congregation of Plains Baptist Church holds a one-week revival service.
-In preparation for the week, the congregation would venture into the community inviting non-churched members to the services.
-As a deacon, Carter always participated in this exercise.
-Carter would always visit a few homes, read the Scriptures and have prayer, share some religious beliefs, then he would talk about the weather and crops and depart.
Carter wrote: "I was always proud enough of this effort to retain a clear conscience throughout the remainder of the year."
One day Carter was asked to speak at a church in Preston, Georgia.
-The topic he was assigned was "Christian Witnessing."
-As Carter sat in his study writing and thinking, he decided he would make a great impression upon the audience by sharing with them how many home visits he made for God.
-He figured in the fourteen years since returning from the Navy he had conducted 140 visits.
As Carter sat there, he began to reflect on the 1966 governor’s election.
-As he campaigned for the state’s highest office, he spent sixteen to eighteen hours a day trying to reach as many voters as possible.
-At the conclusion of the campaign Carter calculated that he met more than 300,000 Georgians.
Sitting in his study the truth became evident. He says …
-"The comparison struck me … 300,000 visits for myself in three months, and 140 visits for God in fourteen years!"
Are we in the same boat as Jimmy Carter?
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Connect with people. Do they stink? What do I mean by that? Some people have BO. Amen? You may be sitting next to someone like that right now!
Now, remember, we’re talking about connecting with people now. Just as you may need to get real close to a person to see if they stink or not you need to connect with a person to see if they are saved or not.
We need to have “God Eyes” and we need to be looking for those whom Jesus came to seek and to save. And, that, by the way, is everyone who is not already saved or any who have forsaken Christ and returned to a life of sin.
It will have to be intentional. It may be outside your comfort zone. It may scare you to death but if we are to be His witnesses we need to connect!
We need to at the very minimum be brave enough to ask someone to church!
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So, we’ve covered Connect - what comes next?
Respect!
Respect: is defined as a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, etc. or a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way,
With that in mind … suppose …
You are a person who is completely devoted to God and accomplishing His will for you on earth and you “connect” with someone and you start to tell them about salvation through faith in Christ.
They say, “Oh, yeah! That’s great. I’m a spiritual person, too. I love Jesus and I love Mohammed and the Buddha is my buddy and I use my ouija board every weekend to see which one I will worship that weekend.”
Now, we know from God's Holy Word that Jesus said in John 14:6
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
And we also know that Luke inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote in
Acts 4:11-12 (NLT)
“For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
With those Scriptures in mind can you respect the opinion of someone why says, “Oh, yeah! That’s great. I’m a spiritual person, too. I love Jesus and Mohammed and the Buddha is my buddy and I use my ouija board every weekend to see which on I will worship that weekend.”
Not really, but what else might happen? Other people might …
Argue with you
Insult you
Ignore you
Pretend they are agreeing just to get you to shut up
In today’s world they may even try to kill you
How can you respect that? You can’t. But here is what you CAN respect.
You can show them respect out of respect for God who is their creator.
They are a person created in the image of God!
Genesis 1:27 says:
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”
So, they are a person created in the image of God but why else should we show them respect?
They are a person for whom Christ died on the cross and who He wishes to save!
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
And 2 Peter 3:9 says:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
We show them respect because
They are created in the image of God
Jesus died on the cross so that they could be saved
God desires that they come to salvation
Finally - because God showed pity on us while we were yet sinners and
saved us!
Romans 5:8 says:
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
With respect for the one God loves let’s read:
Colossians 4:5-6 NLT
“Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”
This is not a natural response for most people. I constantly need to work at keeping my big mouth shut instead of responding with a quick, hurtful comment.
Don’t be a jerk to a jerk because Jesus loves that jerk just as much as He loves you.
Illustration:
The African Bishop, Desmond Tutu, was once asked why he became an Anglican rather than joining some other denomination. He replied that in the days of apartheid, when a black person and a white person met while walking on a footpath, the black person was expected to step into the gutter to allow the white person to pass and nod their head as a gesture of respect. "One day" Tutu says, "when I was just a little boy, my mother and I were walking down the street when a tall white man, dressed in a black suit, came toward us. Before my mother and I could step off the sidewalk, as was expected of us, this man stepped off the sidewalk and, as my mother and I passed, tipped his hat in a gesture of respect to her! I was more than surprised at what had happened and I asked my mother, ‘Why did that white man do that?’ My mother explained, ‘He’s an Anglican priest. He’s a man of God, that’s why he did it.’ When she told me that he was an Anglican priest I decided there and then that I wanted to be an Anglican priest too. And what is more, I wanted to be a man of God."
Here’s an example that’s a little closer to home …
Hunter! We love Hunter or we should love Hunter. He was made in the image of God and we hope beyond hope that one day he will come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Now, when Hunter comes to church and zooms around like a tornado or beats on the drums with great vigor we have a choice. We can frown at him and scold him and eventually he will not want to come back to a place where he is constantly condemned. Or … we can show the love and patience that will make him feel loved and wanted and that will make church a welcoming place instead of a hostile place.
A lot of Christians probably put up with our craziness before we came to Jesus.
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So, we’ve covered …
Connect - make contact, establish a relationship
Respect - see them as the prodigal son or daughter who the Father loves and wants to redeem (save)
Protect - protection from what?
If they come to know Jesus as Savior they will be protected in at least two ways
1) Protection from the consequences of sin that they would have committed
2) Protection from an eternity in hell away from God!
Romans 6:20-23
“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The wages of sin is death!
On earth sin causes death to relationships!
There are songs about “if I had my life to live over again I wouldn’t change a thing.” Or something to that affect
Really? Let’s take an extreme example …
Have you ever, ever heard a person say, “I was tempted to commit adultery but the Lord helped me to be faithful to my wife and as a result of being faithful to my wife my life is no longer worth living. My marriage is gone. My children despise me. I was fired from my job because I was so depressed I couldn’t even get up in the morning.”
Have you ever heard a person who avoided adultery say that? I know I never have.
Most likely you have heard people say, “I was tempted to commit adultery and I gave in and was unfaithful to my wife. My marriage is gone, My children despise me. I was fired from my job because I was so depressed I could not focus on my work or even get out of bed to come to work.”
You see the wages of sin on earth is death to relationships.
James 5:19-20 says
“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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When I watch Flashpoint more often than not they are able to connect, respect, protect and keep the peace. More often than not no one dies and lives are saved.
Is that not what we are aching for, for people to be saved and brought into the Kingdom of God?
When I hear about someone bound in the chains of sin, who is causing grief and destruction in all areas of life and some humble Christian takes the time to reach out to that person and connect. And, they respect, not condemning but showing the compassion to that person that God showed to them and they tell them about the wonderful grace of Jesus. And, then they lead them into the protection of knowing Jesus. Eternal protection. Protection from more sinful destruction. Protection from an eternity in hell. And, finally they keep the peace by introducing that prodigal son or daughter to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ! That's AWESOME!!!
Let’s look again at Romans 10:14
“How can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?”
Invitation
