Series: Action [#137]
THE CURE- MY HEART’S DESIRE
Romans 10:1-21
Introduction:
Last week, was a difficult Sermon for me to preach. As I went through the week telling different people about Karen, my perspective on things has been very different. This question came to my mind, “What is it that I want to see happen at the Church”?
Romans 10:1
Romans 10:9-10
Romans 10:13
My heart’s desire is that…
1. All people be saved.
I know that this sounds very generic and “religious”; but the truth is, we are called to love all people and if you love them, you want them to be saved. The challenge to this statement is that many of us have people that we have to deal with that we just can’t stand. In fact, the thought in our head or the words from our mouth is, “Go to Hell”. Christians, which is it? Do you want them to be saved or go to Hell?
A Church that is only about the comfort of the saved is a Church that will be in decline. As we grow, it must be with the lost in mind. If you are thinking, “I’ve tried to talk to people that aren’t saved and they just don’t listen or care. They always turn me down”. Remember that your responsibility is not results. The enemy is going to do everything he can to keep a person from being saved. There are barriers to salvation.
Romans 10:1-2
* Ignorance is a barrier to salvation.
Remember that we do not seek God- God seeks us. Just as the Jewish people were ignorant about the saving power of Jesus Christ, so are many today. They hear things about God, they see things about God, but they don’t apply it to their life. They count everything about God as religion and they stay out of anything that is about religion.
Romans 10:3-4
* Works is a barrier to salvation.
Throughout history, man has tried to devise ways to be close to God. In the process, man has come up with his own rules for religion. This has also infiltrated into the Church. It is hard to find any Church that has not devised its own rules in different areas of the Church. People have a hard time believing that there is nothing that they can do on their own to be accepted by God.
Romans 10:5-8
* The truth is a barrier to salvation.
You may be thinking, “He has lost his mind. How does the truth keep people from coming to Jesus?” The truth of the Word exposes the sin in a person’s life, and they don’t want to deal with it.
Romans 10:16-21
* Stubbornness is a barrier to salvation.
How does a person hear about the saving power and life changing power of Jesus Christ and say no? I’m not sure how that happens either; but it does. Some people are simply going to say no to Jesus and there is nothing you can do about that.
Romans 10:11-12
My heart’s desire is that…
2. God’s people live unashamedly.
Why do Christians live secret lives? Regardless of who we are or where we come from, when we become a member of God’s family we should be proud to admit that. We will never reach our community for Jesus until we admit that we are part of His family.
Romans 10:14-15
My heart’s desire is that…
3. God’s people proclaim Jesus.
I know that 99% of the people that read this automatically think about the Pastor; but the truth is, all Christians should be proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. God puts many people in front of us every day, and you may be the appointed person to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to them.
Conclusion:
I pray each day that God will grow our Church. I don’t ask God to add to our Church people from other Churches; but that He would add to our number with new Christians. I also know that will bring challenges to our Church; but after all, why are we here? Let’s proclaim the name of Jesus in all that we do.
