It was at that debate that Vice President nominee Dan Quayle made reference to something that President John F. Kennedy said, to support what he believed. Senator Benson's response afterwards was, "Mr. Vice President, I knew President Kennedy, and you are no John Kennedy!"
Ever since then, when someone claimed to be like someone else, that phrase is used, "YOU ARE NO_________!"
Keeping that in mind, as we read in scripture of these servants of God in New Testament times, we recognize WE ARE NOT THE CHRISTIANS THEY WERE.
However, IT IS OUR DESIRE that God will make us everything they were.
Notice, three things they possessed that we need in the church today.
I. THEY WERE COURAGEOUS.
History reveals many men overcame their fear and went on to do courageous things.
We all admire people who have courage…don’t we?
? Can you imagine what it must have been like to live in the days of Christopher Columbus? Columbus and his men set out to discover a shorter route for commercial ships to travel and did not know what they would be facing. They took off on that voyage across the ocean not knowing if perhaps somewhere out there they might drop off the edge of the earth like going over a gigantic Niagara Falls? WHAT COURAGE!
? Can you imagine the courage it took for former astronaut, John Glenn, to climb into that space ship, and be the first man in the history of America, to be shot into outer space like a bullet out of a gun? WHAT COURAGE!
In the secular world the history books reveal great men of courage. And had they not had this courage their names would not be in the history books today.
The history books are filled with accounts of men and women of great courage, but never have men shown greater courage than the men of God we read of in books of church history, who suffered persecution and some, even death.
For example, think of that great deacon in the New Testament by the name of-
(1) STEPHEN.
Acts (6 & 7) tells us that Stephen demonstrated great courage as he addressed his accusers. He had the courage to look them in the eyes and tell them things about themselves that they did not want to hear.
Stephen did not go behind their backs and speak these things; he spoke to them face to face. He did this knowing he might be killed but this did not stop him from speaking the truth. WHAT COURAGE!
Another example of courage is found in the life of the apostle...
(2) PAUL
He was one of the most courageous men who ever lived. When we read of the things he had to face in his life we wonder how anyone could face such opposition and not throw in the towel and quit. Among other things:
• He was stoned. (This would have stopped some.)
• He was jailed. (This would have stopped some.)
• He was whipped. (This would have stopped some.)
• He was rejected. (This would have stopped some.)
And none of these things stopped him.
Paul said in Acts 20:24. We read, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”
If we are GOING TO DO the things they DID, we are going to have to possess the things they POSSESSED. These great Christians had GREAT COURAGE to do God’s work.
Illus: When John Knox was killed it was said of him, “THERE LIES HE WHO NEVER FEARED THE FACE OF MAN.”
Illus: Someone said, “There are more twins born these days than ever before. Maybe it is because children today do not have the courage to come into the world alone!”
When we look at the courage of these great Christians of the New Testament and church history, how dare the church today say we are just like them when many Christians do not have the courage to open their mouths to their family, friends and co-workers to tell them the gospel!
THEY WERE COURAGEOUS.
II. THEY WERE COMPASSIONATE.
A successful soul winner always possesses compassion. Many Christians love the Lord, but they do not have a love for lost souls.
Psalm 142:4 says, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me: NO MAN CARED FOR MY SOUL. "
If you have a desire to be used of God to win souls to Christ, you must ask God to give you a love for souls. Too many Christians lack compassion for the lost today.
? It is amazing the number of homes you can go into and the people will tell you, “No one has ever knocked on my door and told me about salvation.”
? It is amazing how many salesmen have dealt with Christians and never, not one time, has anyone witnessed to them about the Lord Jesus.
? It is amazing how many cashiers have dealt with Christians and never, not one time, has anyone witnessed to them about the Lord Jesus.
? It is amazing how many mechanics have dealt with Christian and never, not one time, has anyone witnessed to them about the Lord Jesus.
? The world is dying and going to hell because God’s people have spiritual lockjaw.
The lost world is full of sinners and Christians never tell them how they can be saved.
The devil’s crowd is constantly encouraging people to live a life of sin.
Illus: A man that spent a great deal of time RVing in campgrounds in the desert near Las Vegas said that all kinds of efforts were made to get people to come and gamble in the casinos. To lure them in they would…
(1) Give the campers vouchers for free gas for them to travel into Las Vegas to get them gamble.
(2) Give them tickets for free meals in the casinos hoping to get them to gamble.
(3) Light the city up with neon lights to make it an exciting place to gamble.
They have built and are still building some of the most elaborate buildings in the world to get people to come and gamble.
Because of their all-out efforts to get people to gamble we have people all over this nation hooked on gambling.
Satan is doing everything he can to lure people into sin. When are the Christians going to wake up and realize God has called us to go and tell them of Jesus and rescue them from sin?
There is an old saying, “Wake-up and smell the coffer brewing.” We Christians need to wake up and see “the fields are white unto harvest.”
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said he was out in a new neighborhood witnessing for the Lord and he saw two Mormons going from house to house. You have seen them. Is it any wonder they are growing at such a rapid pace? It is because they are GOING and SHOWING PEOPLE THEY CARE ABOUT THEM.
Where are the Christians?
Illus: On television recently they had a documentary dealing with young girls going into prostitution and they had these pimps controlling their lives. The investigators were trying to figure out why these young girls would do such a thing. And in almost every case these girls came from homes where a father was abusive and did not show any love to them. And then when these pimps came into their lives they became the father figures. The girls felt they cared and would provide for them.
Sinners know that people in most churches today do not CARE if they die and go to a devil’s hell.
? Most Christians will not walk across the street to tell a sinner about Jesus.
? They will talk to them about anything and everything else, but they will never talk to them about the Lord.
? If you ask, many sinners will tell you that no Christian has ever asked them if they could show them the plan of salvation.
Illus: A little boy was dirty and had sores on his knees and he came to a church service. At the end of the service he came down and got on his knees to accept the Lord at the new altar, which had just had new padding and material installed on it.
After the service one of the church members told the pastor that they needed to do something about these dirty kids coming to church because this one had gotten blood on their brand new altar.
Our churches are filled with professing Christians who:
? Care about beautiful buildings
? Care about social events
But they do not care for lost souls.
Is this Christian America?
When are we going to wake up, Christians! This is what God has COMMANDED US TO DO!
Paul said in II Cor. 5:14, “For the love of Christ constraineth us...”
Illus: We live in a world in which it seems like someone has picked up the dictionary and some very important words have fallen out. I am convinced that one word definitely has fallen out: IT IS THE WORD COMPASSION!
So many Christians have become cold and indifferent, many of them cannot remember when the last time was that they shed a tear for lost loved ones and friends.
Illus: In Virginia there is a place called “CAREVILLE.” Now wouldn't it be wonderful if the people who lived in that place in Virginia really CARED ABOUT EACH OTHER instead of being like most folks in the world who only care about SPORTS, HOBBIES, and MATERIAL GOODS.
We must have this love for souls before we can be soul winners.
It is clear, the New Testament Christians had a love for lost souls. They were passionate about winning souls to Christ.
The Scriptures tell us in Acts 17:6, that they were accused of turning "...the world upside down," with the gospel because they had so much compassion for the lost.
That compassion that they had is the compassion that the church today DESPERATELY LACKS. How dare us to say we are the same as the church of the New Testament.
They had:
? Courage to win the lost
? Compassion to win the lost
III. THEY WERE CONTROLLED.
There are all kinds of definitions of what it is to be SPIRIT FILLED and we will not cover them in this sermon.
But anyone that read of this New Testament church that was SPIRIT FILLED will have to conclude that a SPIRIT FILLED CHURCH is a church that is SPIRIT CONTROLLED.
Because these men were Spirit-filled, they were Spirit CONTROLLED, and because they were Spirit controlled they were determined to win every soul they came in contact with.
Illus: There is an inscription on a tablet in the South Sea Islands placed there in memory of a great soul winner by the name of John Geddes.
In his honor it says, “When he landed in 1848 there were no Christians here; when he left in 1872, there were no heathens here!” What a powerful tribute to a soul winner!
We can claim all we want to that we are like those New Testament Christians, but anyone who reads of them and then looks at most of the churches today, would say, "YOU ARE NOT A NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH!”
Why could this be said?
Because, when we look into the Scriptures and see how they conducted themselves when they were Spirit filled, it certainly is not the same thing as we see today in people who say they are spirit filled.
Again, we have millions of Christians in churches around the world who think they are filled with the Spirit, yet they have never won a soul to Christ.
Millions have claimed they are filled with the Spirit, and this week they have not witnessed to the first lost soul.
Why? Because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit.
If they were filled with the Spirit, the Bible states, “YE SHALL RECEIVE…AND YE SHALL BE WITNESSES!”
If they were Spirit-filled they would be out desperately seeking the souls of mankind, to win them to Christ!
What happens when a person is first saved?
Look at Acts 1: 8, the Word of God says, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Notice, this marvelous verse of Scripture is telling us two things about being Spirit-filled:
A. “... YE SHALL RECEIVE POWER..."
B. "...YE SHALL BE WITNESSES ... "
The Scripture makes it clear that, "…Ye shall receive power..." and as evidence that you have received that power is, "...Ye shall be witnesses..."
I am going to make a statement that might make some of you mad. That is, if you are not actively seeking for lost souls this week it is because you are in a backslidden condition.
When God first saved you, you wanted to tell everyone about Christ. When you were saved you wanted everyone to discover and share with you what you had because it was so great. But now you do not care if people know how they can have eternal life.
Why? Because what you HAD, you NO LONGER HAVE! This is call "backsliding"!
Conclusion:
Dr. A. J. Gordon tells of his visit to the World's Fair.
Among the many displays that caught his attention was an oriental man who was laboriously turning a crank on a pump handle to pump a large volume of water out of the spout. It intrigued him so much that he decided he would get closer to get a better look. Upon close examination:
He discovered the man was made of wood.
He also discovered that instead of the man turning the crank to make the water flow, the flow of water turned the crank that made the man go.
This is what the Lord is doing in the life of a soul winner.
It looks like what the man is doing is a great thing, but actually it is the Holy Spirit that is producing the results as the man yields to His leading.
If we are going to be effective soul winners, we must be like the New Testament Christians.
I. THEY WERE COURAGEOUS.
II. THEY WERE COMPASSIONATE.
III. THEY WERE CONTROLLED.
