Introduction:
This illustration of ‘a description of cake’ is to show that each view is important.
It is my intent here to build a connection with my audience as quickly as possible. Thus, I will need to internalize this illustration, use much expression, humor, eye contact in order to get my point across
When my sisters and I were much younger, my mom decided to do an experiment. During the course of one Saturday, she told us that she was going to bake a cake and asked if we, one at a time, would come into the kitchen to take notes on all that we experienced.
We went in birth order, so Mary Angela was first on the scene. When she go there all she saw were the many ingredients that Mom was going to use in baking the cake: the flour, and the bitter chocolate, and the salt, and the baking powder. In fact, Mary Angel’s nose got the best of her and she just had to bite into that bitter chocolate, which promptly exited from her mouth. The idea of cake taking like this turned her off.
Next was Mary Pat. She walked into chaos. The containers of food were all opened up, the old fashioned egg beater dripped with cake mixture, the sink was full of dishes. Out of curiosity, though, she tasted some of the batter, and though not looking pleasant, had a somewhat pleasant taste to it.
My turn came up next. Mom had gotten all the dishes cleaned up, the counters wiped down, and all that I saw was a stove that was turned on. I felt the heat, and smelled the air which was filled with chocolate cake aroma. But it was not ready as I noticed that it was still pretty flat in the pan, and so I left the kitchen bot discouraged and impatient.
Lasty, Mary Catherine went in. The cake had just come out of the oven. It smelled and looked great, and she even was allowed to have a piece just to check it out.
Shortly after this, my mom called us four kids back into the kitchen to ask us how we described her cake. Each one of my siblings stressed the phase that they were exposed to, and began arguing that how theirs was the right one.
Mom, though, had another explanation: they all were correct. And, that thought the finished product is what we like most, it would never have come about without the other steps.
We too must learn to respect the process that individuals, and be able to treat each step of their lives with real, in order to come to that time with them when they readily accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior
Transitional statement:
Because the prodigals are at differing stages of their live journey, and because God seeks that no one perish ….
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3: 9
….we must be ready
I. God desire all to be saved
In this part, I will expect to be telling something to the church that they already know, so I don’t really need to go into much detail
**Those whom God AWAKENS the church must not PUT TO SLEEP!**
a. Biblical support for God awakening the Church (Prevenient Grace)
Long before Rick Warren published his book, The Purpose Driven Life, God had a plan.
I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail.
Matthew 16:18
God is on the move.
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. 17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
Isaiah 59
4"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44
b. practical support for God building his church
In regions like Asia, Africa, and Latin America, God is adding upwards to 25000 people each day. (Lost in America, Tom Clegg & Warren Bird) Yet, here in the United States of America, here in the land of the free, home of the brave, we find such a different story.
II. Reasons why North America is not experiencing Christian Conversions
At this point, it is my desire to awaken the audience’s intellect to begin grappling with numbers
a. Regarding the Unchurched: an adult (18 or older) who has not attended a Christian church service within the past six months, not including a holiday service (such as Easter or Christmas) or a special event at a church (such as a wedding or funeral).
Consider
There has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last thirteen years. In 1991 there were 39 million unchurched Americans compared with 75 million currently. (2004)
More than three out of five (62%) unchurched adults consider themselves to be Christian. (2006)
44% claim they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today. (2006)
Regarding Salvation
Consider
When it comes to feeling a personal responsibility to share ones religious beliefs with others, regional differences emerge. In total, 48% of those in the South feel strongly that it is their personal responsibility to share their faith with others, compared to 39% of Midwesterners, 33% of those in the West, and 30% of those in the Northeast. (2006) ?
These are the facts, my friends. First fact is that God is awakening people. The second fact is that the church in North America is getting soft! In fact, another survey find that it takes on the average, 85 people in the American Church to lead one person to Christ. (Lost in America, Tom Clegg & Warren Bird)
I remember listening to one statistician described how he felt as he had one foot immerged in boiling hot water, and the other foot in a bucket of ice: One the average I feel OK.
Though we may rightly question some of these statistics, the point of the matter is that there are thousands of people in this very community who don’t know Christ, and there are still many more who have a fuzzy idea of who he is and it the mission of this church to be launched into the deep
b. a more practical examination of the facts.
At this point in the sermon, it is my desire to awaken the audience’s emotions to start realizing that our church not only can grow, but that it has all the resources but that if it does not, then we are trying too hard to stop it!
Listen to these numbers
In 2004 Claremont posted 13334 people
Today there are 13 churches in the area.
That is about 1025.6 people in each church.
Now if we take just one of the stats that tells us that 44% of the unchurched claim that they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, let’s take that and adjust our number of the amount of people each church could see on a given Sunday: 451.3 people in each church
What do you think? Another way of looking at one statistic is that our of every 10 people you know who don’t come to church, between 4 and 5 claim that they have a personal commitment to Jesus.
Let’s deal with money right now. Let’s say that you just received $100,000. Not bad, but that will not last you that long. There is something that will always we crying out for your money. But let’s say that I know of someone who can teach you how to live well off, just on the interest you could receive. Would you want to know how!
I am thinking that my friends, that the many people who claim to have a personal commitment with Jesus Christ, while being unchuched, is akin to those who have that $100,000 but who have no idea of how to live well off with it.
Do you think that they would want to know how to live?
III. Conclusion
At this point, it is my desire to uncover, at least one reason why we in North America, in general, are not seeking results, and challenge the people to dream how they can change this with God’s help and for His Glory.
But there is a big problem, each one of us here, and on the count of three I want you to state your name, each one of you need to know the importance of being commitment to OMS, how to connect with OMS, and how to challenge OMS with the Good News.
One of the biggest problems we are facing is our cultures is fuzzy notions of heaven and hell. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ must sound clearly the teaching of God on these subjects.
In this age of holding contradictory beliefs a logical, we must ask ourselves what in the world does the Bible teach!
If we are not commited to teaching the truth to OMS, and if we are not committed to walking with that OMS through the process, we have just decided that though God is awakening individuals all around us, we simply don’t want to be bothered, We would much rather have them sleep!
Whom God awakens, the church must not put to sleep.
