And, just as there is plenty more gold yet to be dug out of the earth, so there are plenty more sermons that have not yet been discovered in the pages of this sacred Book.
The Lord is so great that ministers have not come close to exhausting the materials in this Bible that describe His greatness.
Illus: The song writer said this years ago in the words of a song:
• If the ocean was ink, we still would not have enough ink to describe God’s love.
• If the sky was a scroll, we would still not have enough space to describe God’s love.
In John 21:25, John said these startling things about all the Lord Jesus did, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.”
Illus: If you visited the local library and went to the biography section, you would find life stories of great people of the past. After reading those biographies you would know all about those people. Some of those books would be an inch thick. Some might even be three inches thick.
But, again, the Lord’s life here was so much greater than other men that John said, “...I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.”
There are so many things that can be said about Christ! For example, a preacher could preach on-
• The many miracles He performed in His lifetime here.
• His unique birth, being born of a virgin.
• His sinlessness.
• His kindness.
• His forgiveness.
• His crucifixion.
• His resurrection.
• His ascension.
• The many sermons He preached.
• The many prayers He prayed.
• The compassion He displayed throughout His life here.
We can go to any chapter of the Bible and find a sermon about the Lord Jesus. We could go to some of the shortest verses in the Bible and find enough material to preach a sermon.
For example, In this sermon we have chosen John 20:21 for our text. We read, “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
Let us not take the whole verse. Let us pull just that last little phrase out. “...as my Father hath sent me...so send I you.”
In these eleven words we have a powerful message. Jesus, the master soul winner, tells us TWO very important things abut SOUL WINNING, such as:
I. WHERE DO WE FIND THEM?
That is, where do we find lost souls? To answer that question, all we have to do is look at the life of Jesus.
WHERE DID HE FIND THEM?
He found them EVERYWHERE!
The lesson we learn from Him is that we are to SEEK THE LOST in the same way He did! He was the Master Soul winner. He said, “...as my Father hath sent me...so send I you.”
When it comes to reaching the lost, some Christians have the attitude that there are no lost souls around to be won. With an attitude like that, we know why they never win anyone to Christ.
Illus: We need to be like the man named Bill who went to Alaska to hunt bear. Some of the native Alaskans thought they would take advantage of his ignorance about bear hunting and play a trick on him. They told him to go to the woods and get a bear to chase him back to the cabin and they would be inside. They told him once the bear came inside they would gang up on him and capture him. They were all in the cabin laughing about Bill, who was in the woods trying to find a bear to chase him. In a few minutes they heard him yell, “Open the door! Open the door!” They looked out the window and sure enough they saw Bill running with a bear right behind him, and the bear was gaining ground. Old Bill kept yelling, “Open the door! Open the door!” When the grizzly was about six feet behind him and the door swung open, Bill put the brakes on and stepped aside. The old bear kept right on going, right inside the cabin with all the Alaskans. They heard old Bill yell, “I will be right back with another one. The woods are FULL OF THEM.”
The world we live in is FULL OF SINNERS. However, those who believe there are no sinners to be won will never win anyone to Christ.
Illus: They remind us of the story of the fellow who was fishing. There was posted a “No Fishing” sign. The game warden walked up and said, “Mr., can’t you read? That sign says, ‘No Fishing.’” The man looked at the game warden and answered, “Yes sir, I can read! The man who wrote that sign knew what he was talking about. There certainly is no fishing in this pond!”
Every man who is a true fisherman knows he is wasting his time to fish in a pond where there are NO FISH. Jesus was the true “fisher of men.” We can learn from His example when it comes to spiritual fishing. He found sinners everywhere He went.
Let us page through the Bible and see where Christ won lost souls.
A. In Mark 2:14, he won Levi in a place of business.
We read, “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.”
B. In John 4:6-39, He won a prostitute at the city well.
We do not have time to go through all these verses, but let us “walk” through a few of them.
• Look at verses 6-7. We read, “Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria...” Look at verses 28-29. We read, “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”
• Look at verse 39. We read, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.”
C. In John 8:2-11, he won a woman on the temple grounds.
Look at verses 2-11. We read, “And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
D. In Luke 19, He won Zacchaeus, who was in a tree.
Look at verses 5-9. We read, “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house...”
E. In Mark 5:1-20, He won one man in a cemetery.
When this demon possessed man was saved the public could tell a difference in him. Look at verse 15. We read, “And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind...”
F. In Luke 23:42-43, He won a thief who was dying on the cross beside Him even as He hung on a cross.
We read, “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
Jesus won souls wherever He went. He says to us, “I am your example, AS MY FATHER HATH SENT ME, EVEN SO SEND I YOU.”
We have seen from His example that we should win souls WHERE WE FIND THEM.
Now let us look at-
II. HOW DO WE REACH THEM?
Any good fisherman will tell you it is important that we know where fish are, but it is EQUALLY important to know how to CATCH THEM ONCE WE FIND THEM!
Illus: This means that you can be on a lake that is loaded with fish, but if you play your “boom box” so loud it causes the boat to vibrate, you probably will not catch any fish. Why? The noise you make will probably scare them all away.
Many use about that much wisdom when it comes to spiritual fishing. The lost souls are there, but these soul winners scare them away before they have a chance to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Jesus said, “...AS MY FATHER HATH SENT ME, EVEN SO SEND I YOU.” If we are going to follow His example, let me briefly show you two things.
A. He used tact
Look at Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary...”
That is, if we are going to win people to Christ we have to learn how to be tactful. The dictionary says tact is: “The delicate perception of the right thing to say or do without offending: skill in dealing with people.” Let me give you an illustration of tact.
Illus: One who uses no tact may say to a woman, “Woman, stop talking so much.” But a tactful person will say to a woman, “Your mouth is extremely beautiful when your lips are closed.”
Someone has said, “Tact is something that if it is there, nobody notices it; but if it is not there, everybody notices it.”
As we look at the life of Christ we see the Master Who is a Master at being tactful. He was stern when He should have been, but nowhere in the Bible do you see where Christ spoke unkind words. He was skilled in KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY, AND HOW TO SAY IT.
Someone said, “Did you know we make more enemies by what we say than friends by what we do.”
Someone said, “The real art of conversation is not only saying the right thing in the right place, but leaving unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
And, “People with tact have less to retract.”
Illus: They tell us that a young man in Africa is not considered to be a man until he shoots an elephant, but in America some do not think they have reached adulthood until they shoot the bull. And they keep shooting the same bull over and over again.
Jesus had this marvelous way of making the woman at the well, who was despised by everyone, feel that she was someone.
Illus: One of the greatest compliments that could be paid to a lady during the time of Christ was to call her a woman. Remember Jesus, as He hung on the cross, referred to his mother as Woman. He used the same word, that was a compliment, and turned to the prostitute and said, “Woman, where are thine accusers?”
You will never see a person who is rude when he speaks to others, winning others to Christ. Jesus said He was our example, “...as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” Jesus knew WHAT TO SAY AND WHEN TO SAY IT. HE USED TACT. Also-
B. He used contact
You can have all the TACT in the world, but it will be useless if there is no CONTACT.
Someone said, “Use tact. It is important, but do not use so much tact that you fail to use ATTACK!”
Illus: A fisherman can have his garage loaded with the best boat, motor, poles, and fishing tackle available, but if he does not go where the fish are and aggressively make an effort to catch them, he never will.
Isn’t this a picture of many Christians in our churches?
They have read books on soul winning. They have been to seminars on soul winning. They have a gorgeous, gold-leaf Bible, the Word of God, but they have never won anyone to Christ. They have TACT, but they have never ATTACKED!
Illus: Samson had strength enough to pull down the great temple of the Philistines, but it was of no use until he got his strong arms around those mighty pillars and made CONTACT.
Conclusion:
We live in a strange world today. People in churches across this land pray for revival, but it is not clear what they have in mind when it comes to revival. It seems as though there is a secret formula to having revival and that formula has been lost. All we have to do is look back in history and see the men who knew what revival was. They left the formula for us to follow.
Illus: R. A. Torrey knew what revival was. He said, “I can give you a prescription that will bring revival to any church or community or any city on earth.
• First, let a few Christians (they need not be men) get thoroughly right with God themselves. This is the prime essential. If this is not done, the rest I am to say will not come to anything.
• Second, let them bind themselves together in prayer in a prayer group to pray for a revival until God opens the heavens and comes down.
• Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God for Him to use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ. That is all!
This is sure to bring a revival to any church or community. I have given this prescription around the world. It has been taken by many churches and many communities, and in no instance has it ever failed: and it can not fail!”
There is not anything that revives a church like PRAYER and SOUL WINNING!
Without these you CAN NOT HAVE REVIVAL! Let’s be busy winning souls.
I. WHERE DO WE FIND THEM?
II. HOW DO WE REACH THEM?
A. He used tact
B. He used contact
