God has called THE CHURCH TO REACH THE LOST.
• There is no shortage of Church buildings today
• There is a tremendous shortage of CHRISTIANS WHO ARE TRYING TO REACH THE LOST
The Word of God says, in Matthew 9:37, “… The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.”
Illus: Several years ago (1985), a celebration took place at a municipal pool in New Orleans. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at the New Orleans City pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards.
As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.
What a tragedy! But, it’s just as tragic when lost people are surrounded by Christians and still die and go to Hell, not knowing Jesus.
The early Church was THE CHURCH THAT REACHED THE LOST. We need to raise the bar in our commitment in doing the same thing! To anyone reading about the New Testament Church and today’s church, it is obvious that the church today does not do things the way the New Testament church did things.
Many of us older folks talk about how things have changed for the worse since we were teenagers.
Illus: The church today reminds me of the grandpa who went to the mall. He said, “I just spent several hours observing teenagers hanging out at our local mall. I came to the conclusion that many teenagers in America today are living in poverty.” He said that -
• Most young men he observed didn't even own a belt; there was not one among the whole group, not one that wore a belt!
• That wasn't the saddest part. Many were wearing their daddy's jeans. Some jeans were so big and baggy that they hung low on their hips, exposing their underwear!
• He knew some must have been ashamed their daddy was short, because his jeans hardly went below their knees.
• They weren't even their good jeans, for most had holes ripped in the knees and a dirty look to them.
• It grieved him, in a modern, affluent society like America, that there are people who can't afford a decent pair of jeans.
He said that the saddest part was the girls that were hanging out. He said, “I've never, in all of my life, seen such poverty stricken girls. “
• These girls had the opposite problem of the guys. They all had to wear their little sisters clothes. Their jeans were about five sizes too small! He didn’t know how they could put them on, let alone button them up.
• Their jeans barely went over their hipbones. Most also had on their little sister's tops that didn't even cover their mid-sections. Oh, they were trying to hold their heads up with pride, but it was a sad sight to see these almost grown women wearing children's clothes.
• However, it was their underwear that bothered me most. They, like the boys, because of the improper fitting of their clothes, had their underwear exposed. I never saw anything like it. It looked like their underwear was only held together by a single piece of string.
He said, “I know it saddens your heart to receive this report on condition of our American teenagers. While we go to bed every night with a closet full of clothes, nearby, there are millions of ‘mall girls’ who barely have enough material to keep it together.”
“I think their poverty is why these two groups gather at the mall, boys with their short daddies' ripped jeans and girls wearing their younger sisters' clothes. The mall is one place where they can find acceptance.”
“So, next time you are at the mall doing your shopping, and you pass by some of these poor teenagers, would you say a prayer for them? And one more thing ... Will you pray the guys' pants won't fall down?
I thank you all,” -- A Concerned Grandparent
Things certainly have changed in our age. And so has today’s church. Today’s churches think they are in great shape, but it would surprise them to find out the Lord does not think so!
Today’s church remind me of the church in Revelation 3:14-17, we read, “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”
• Notice, the Laodicean church had the opinion that because they were increased with goods, and had need of nothing, they were in excellent shape.
• But God had a different opinion of them. God said, “…And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
God placed THE CHURCH HERE TO REACH THE LOST, but you never would know that by looking at some churches today. We have:
• Our nice buildings to worship in
• Big budgets
• Big programs for all age levels
WE FEEL WE HAVE IT ALL!
But yet in many churches in America, months and years go by and they never win anyone to Christ. There is no doubt about it, the church today has been side-tracked with a lot of good things. The church has lost it’s vision for lost souls.
Illus: While speaking in London, evangelist D. L. Moody was approached by a British companion who wanted to know the secret of Moody’s success in leading people to Christ. Moody directed the man to his hotel window and asked, "What do you see?" The man looked down on the square and reported a view of crowded streets. Moody suggested he look again. This time the man mentioned seeing people--men, women, and children. Moody then directed him to look a third time, and the man became frustrated that he was not seeing what Moody wanted him to see. The great evangelist came to the window with watery eyes and said, "I see people going to Hell without Jesus. Until you see people like that, you will not lead them to Christ."
Illus: Someone said, “It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction.”
If we are going to be THE CHURCH THAT REACH THE LOST, we need to look at some things the Bible teaches. Let’s look at:
I. THE SPECIFICS OF SOUL WINNING
Look at Matthew 10:5-7, “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Look at how specific the Lord was in commanding His disciples to go soul winning.
• He told them where to go. “Lost sheep of the house of Israel”
• He told them what to say. “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
• When He gave these very specifics instructions, He said, “And as ye go”
Notice, he does not say:
• “If you go,”
• “When you go,”
• He said “As you go!”
He wanted them to know HE EXPECTED THEM TO GO, THE SAME WAY HE EXPECTS US TO GO!
Soul winning is not an OPTION, it is a COMMAND. It is difficult today for our generation to know what a COMMAND is. Many have been raised by parents that ASKED them to do something, and didn’t TELL them to do something.
Illus: It is like when you tell your children, “We are going to the store,” and they respond, “But I don’t want to go,” and to that you reply, “I didn’t ask you if you wanted to go, you are going!”
Listen, children will walk all over parents, if they let them.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger says he can remember growing up in the South, and every morning his mother would cook grits and eggs and toast. For years, he thought this was the only thing his mother could cook. Year after year he would get up and he did not have to wonder what they were having for breakfast, he knew what was going to be on the table. He said he ate so much grits and eggs he swore to himself that when he grew up, he would never eat a plate full of grits and eggs again. But he knew better than to complain. When it was put in front of him, his mother would say, “EAT,” and he knew he had better start eating.
Well, now that he’s an adult, guess what he likes to eat for breakfast. You guessed it -- GRITS AND EGGS AND TOAST!
Isn’t that what the Bible teaches? God says, in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
God is very SPECIFIC when he says, “Go”.
Today, even though we all understand what the word “Go” means, Christians have all kinds of excuses as to why they are not going.
Illus: They remind me of a wife and her husband that were having a dinner party for all the major status figures in Rome, Italy. The wife was very excited about this and wanted everything to be perfect. At the very last minute, she realized that she didn't have any snails for this dinner party, so she asked her husband to GO down to the beach with a bucket to gather some snails.
Very grudgingly he agreed. He took the bucket, walked out the door, down the steps, and out to the beach.
As he was collecting the snails, he noticed a beautiful woman strolling alongside the water just a little further down the beach.
He kept thinking to himself "Wouldn't it be great if she would just come down and talk to me." He went back to gathering the snails.
All of a sudden he looked up, and the beautiful woman was standing right beside him.
They got to talking, and he ended up spending about two hours with her.
He ran down the beach all the way to his apartment. He ran up the stairs of his apartment. He was in such a hurry that when he got to the top of the stairs, he dropped the bucket of snails. There were snails all down the stairs.
The door opened just then, with a very angry wife standing in the doorway wondering where he had been all this time.
He looked at the snails all over the steps, then he looked at her, then back at the snails and said: "Come on guys, we're almost there!"
Listen, the Lord tells us to go, and all our ridiculous excuses are not going to cut it with Him.
God EXPECTS US TO GO. He was decisive. Listen, I want to say again, SOUL WINNING IS NOT OPTIONAL IT IS A COMMAND. God expects all believers to be engaged in some type of evangelism ministry.
Jesus said, Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
We Christians get our name from being Christ-like, but if we are not trying to REACH THE LOST, we are not being Christ-like. Evangelism is not an option for a disciple of Christ Jesus. The Lord told them,”…As you go…” He expected them to go and He also expects us to go!
We see THE SPECIFICS OF SOUL WINNING, but also let’s look at-
II. THE SCRIPTURE OF SOUL WINNING
Illus: According to the Barna Research Group, nearly half of those that were surveyed believe that, “the Bible, the Koran, and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths.”
In other words, to many people, it doesn’t make any difference what you believe as long as you believe in something. Listen, what you believe makes a big difference.
Illus: Suppose you are in a burning building and there is only one exit out of the building. But you come to a place in the building that has two halls in it. One leads to the exit and the other one to a dead end. Suppose you said, “It doesn’t really matter which hall I take!” Listen, your life depends on your decision! And your eternal life depends on what YOU BELIEVE.
There are some who say that Christians are a little narrow minded – thinking that they are the only ones who will enter heaven.
• People say, “Do you mean to tell me that those that follow the ways of Islam will not get into heaven?”
•“Do you mean to tell me that those that follow the ways of Buddha, or Wicca, or even Joseph Smith (the leader of the Mormans) will not get into heaven?”
• Do you mean that people won’t find eternal life through crystals, or channeling, or by finding their inner light?
The scripture certainly says that CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN.
As THE CHURCH GOES TO REACH THE LOST, we need to tell them -
• Joining a church will not save them
• Getting baptized will not save them
• Tithing will not save them
Only the Lord Jesus will save them. There is NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN THEY CAN CALL UPON TO BE SAVED.
Now that’s not me talking. That’s not simply what this church believes.
Look at Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
This is GOD’S WORD!
In John 14:6, it says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Conclusion:
Illus: Rick Warren said that there are two basic reasons people don’t know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior:
(1) They have never met a Christian
(2) They have never met a Christian
Let me ask you a question: if the Lord would be gracious and kind and leave you here on earth another year, how many souls will be won to Christ by leaving you here?
Let me ask you another question: if the Lord would be gracious and kind and leave you here on earth another year, how many souls will perish because you would not go and tell them about the Lord?
Some say, “I am only one person, what good can I do?”
Illus: An older gentleman was walking along the seashore one day in the hot sun. He noticed there were thousands of starfish washed up on the shore. One after another, after another, after another he would pick the starfish up and cast them into the water. A young man came along, after having watched this for awhile and told the old man, “You are wasting your time and energy. There are thousands of starfish on the sand. What difference can you possibly make?” The old man seemed to ignore this younger man. He simply bent over, picked up another starfish and threw it into the water. As he quickly moved on to the next one, the old man turned to the younger man and said, “Well, it sure made a difference for that one didn’t it!”
If we will go, the Lord has promised to go with us.
Illus: In the filming of Ben Hur, the star of the movie, Charleton Heston, had a difficult time learning how to drive the chariot. So, after a great deal of work and practice, Heston mastered the art of driving the chariot but felt impelled to go to the director, Cecil B. DeMille, and say, “I think I can drive the chariot, but I’m not sure I can win the race.” DeMille is said to have responded with, “You just stay in the race, I’ll make sure you win.”
We have looked at:
I. THE SPECIFICS OF SOUL WINNING
II. THE SCRIPTURE OF SOUL WINNING
