Ever heard the song by Steven Curtis Chapman "We are not home yet?" It goes like this "So close your eyes for me..and hear the father say welcome home..Let us find our strength .. in all his promises to carry on.. He said I’ll go prepare a place for you..So let us not forget.. WE ARE NOT HOME YET!
(PHIL 3:12-14)
We are not home yet. Our job isn’t through on this earth. He hasn’t said well done my servant. We are still kicking here in this world.Lost people are still dying. People are dying and going to hell and we’re to busy with little leagues. People are dying and going to hell and we to busy with other church activites. People are dying and going to hell and we just don’t care. AH we do care. Then why are we hold the gates open by not telling the Gospel. Nearly every 5 seconds someone dies. That’s over 170,000 a day ever wonder where they’ll spend eternity?
300 million years from now what will truly matter? Will it matter how much money you made? Will it matter if you got the big promotion at work? Will it matter that the Red Sox finally broke the curse? No it will not matter. The only thing that will matter is whether your in heaven or hell. If that is the only thing that will then it should be our top prioity now. In 2nd Cor. we are promised to stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Do you realize when you take your last breathe you will never have another chance to speak to another lost person. Since that is true we should be adamant about reaching the lost. It is like going to a party and everyone invited gets $10,000 and a new Corvette. All you gotta do is give them tickets. When I get to heaven I don’t want any tickets left in my pockets. Do you?
(Mark 16:15)
We as belivers are to be challeged to spread the Gospel. We the men, the leaders of the church are falling down on the job. Charles Spuregeon once said "Every Christian is either an imposter or a missionary." What are you? It is our job to spread the Gospel. Not just Bro. Stuarts’, Bro.Jared, or mine it is all of ours. We are not home yet!! It is our duty to share.
But we got to change our mindset. I know change is a bad word in church. Change is a dreaded word to some people. Billy Graham once said "Change with the times but remained chained to the rock." We have to change our mindset. It is not that we have to witness it is we get to. It is not we have to go to church but we get to. Some people in China walk nearly 6 hours to go to church some of you won’t even come when it is raining. And by the way they don’t go and have a McChurch for thirty minutes either. When we get to heaven it is not we have to go to have when we die it is we get to go to heaven. We have to change our mindset.
Speaking of change we got to stop saying "our church used to be."
Our church used to be that, our church used to be this. Ouit worring about the used to be’s and let us ask how we can be. I’m tired of hearing it. Used to be, Lord how can we be? If you are so worried about how it used to be, you need to worry about how we can be. You are holding the church. How it used to be. Lord show me how it can be!
Remeber what Mark 16:15 said? EVERYONE! The CEO of your company to the janitor of the plant. You don not discriminate when you share the Gospel. If you have to come off your high horse to share the Gospel then you got some serious problems. I want you to remember this. If they are breathing then they need Jesus. (repeat).. How do you see your co-workers, your children friends and their parents. Opportunity to share the Gospel.
Oswald Smith said "Oh my friends we are loaded down with countlesschurch activites, while the real business of the church is to witness." Zondervan Church resources said 97% of all church members have no involvement in any sort of evengelism. Let me ask you a question if God gave you a $1000 evert time you shared the Gospel would you? I quess it is safe to say we would all. Remember we get to share our faith. D.L. Moody said if you get a lost person thinking about eternity for 5 minutes then you could lead them to Christ.
I Cor. says "When you plant a seed I will do something with it." Our God is faithful we must plant seeds. Even if you are rejected we need to plant seeds. We must always be willing to spread the Gospel. To share the love of Jesus Christ. To share what Jesus has done for us in our lives. A survey once said 87% of all Christians were led by a friend.
(bowed heads)
I have a question for you.If one of your friends, family members, or co-workers died today would they see heaven or hell? My next question is what you are goung to do about it.Christ did his part some 2000 years ago. Now it is our turn. We have a job to do. So close your eyes with ..and hear the father say welcome home..Let us find our strength.. in all his promises to carry on..He said I’ll go prepare a place..So let us not forget .. WE ARE NOT HOME YET!
