Reaching Out To Lost People

Reaching out to the Lost

Revival Central Christian Church

February 27 2002

Jb : Introduce Mark Pippin-Testimony

Prayer: Ask them to pray for me

Joke(s)- I told Stan I was going to preach on suffering tonight, he said why if you preach as long as you usually do- they will experience it- firsthand.

I am reminded of the preacher who had preached for quite a long time, when he paused and said, “ I could continue with this, I am really on a roll here, but Jesus has spoken to me and said end it right here.” At that point the congregation rose in unison and began to sing these words: “What a friend we have in Jesus.”

Rich: (show pictures of WTC burning, firefighters, policemen as I start this part)

None of us will ever forget September 11th 2001, what happened that day will go down in infamy; it will be etched in our minds as long as we live.

We will not forget the images of the first tower on fire or the film footage of the second airplane flying into the second tower.

Who could ever forget the image of those two towers collapsing?

We will always remember the firemen, policemen and other heroes who reached out that day to rescue whoever they could, and however they could.

We cried together as a nation as we counted the cost to so many families in the loss of their loved ones. Children who had parents in the morning were motherless, fatherless or complete orphans by the afternoon.

Where was God, if God is so good, how could He let such a terrible tragedy happen to people in a nation, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all? How could He turn his back on a country whose founding Fathers were Christian men and wrote the Constitution of this great land based upon His principles and the Holy Scriptures?

Today every other car has an American flag on its window or a sticker that reads “God Bless America.”

It reminds me of the first Palm Sunday. It was the day Jesus entered Jerusalem when people were angry and frustrated under the oppression of their Roman Rulers and when Jesus the Messiah, the Savior of the world entered the city they cried “Hosanna, Hosanna” which means save us and save us now. They were saying we want out from this terrible time we are living in, we are under the control of evil men, God bless us! And Bless us NOW!

They had bumper stickers on their camels- God Bless Jerusalem-

Rich: Show video of Gasparilla while I speak.

In 2000 years things have not changed very much, people still want to live their lives, the way they want to live them and they want God to protect them, watch over them and bless them.

I am still waiting to see a bumper sticker that says: America Bless God!

We need to reach out to lost people!

We need to tell them that God already has blessed us:

1. if we lose family in the world trade center

2. or to cancer,

3. if we are killed by a terrorist

4. or a drunk driver,

God has blessed us.

5.If we suffer with the results of a stroke

6.or die instantly with a heart attack,

God has blessed us.

None of these things that happen to us come as a surprise to God and they should not come as a surprise to us either.

They are simply the result of living in a fallen world- a world that sin entered into as the result of the sin of one man. Adam brought sin to us all, when he and Eve sinned, sin entered the world and now the Devil is the prince of this world and he has done a great job of deceiving lost people, who believe they can live their lives anyway they want to and call on God and He will bless them!

God knew we would have a problem with sin long before he set the foundations of the world. Before Adam and Eve, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit had a plan.

The plan was that they would bless not just America, but the whole world, Jesus the Son of God would come to earth, born through a virgin, live among us, suffer at the hands of evil wicked men, shed his blood and die that you and I could be saved.

THE Truth IS

God has blessed us with eternal life through the death of His Son Jesus Christ. All people will die, not if but when.

You will die and I will die, but if we receive the greatest blessing of all, if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, even though we die, yet so shall we live.