Sermon Central
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Soul Searching
Contributed by Ron Hicks on Jun 2, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Wouldn’t you agree with me, that it is a great tragedy to sit idle in our little Christian box and let people die in sin and go to Hell without an attempt to rescue them?
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SOUL SEARCHING
Gen 18:16-33
16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Often, we look at this passage of Scripture as an illustration of God’s judgement on sin.
But when we look a little closer, we find an example of one of the greatest missionary hearts ever found in the Bible! Abraham cared about people that no one else would have cared for. He didn’t just have a concern for the people; he let his concern take action!
In 1886, Dr. John Pemberton’s concern took action. One day he introduced Atlanta, Georgia to his caramel-colored syrup concoction. He first distributed this concoction to Jacobs Pharmacy where Coca-Cola was sold for the first time. As its popularity rose, Dr. Pemberton’s concern was that, every person alive, should be able to taste his product at least once in their lifetime!
It has been over 100 years since Dr. Pemberton’s concern took action. Surveys now show that 97% of the world has heard of Coca-Cola, 72% has seen a can of Coca-Cola, and 51% has tasted Coca-Cola!
Today, many people claim to have the same concern for souls as Abraham but feel that the task is too great to see the Gospel truly proclaimed to every individual person.
But which is more important: Coca-Cola or the souls who are lost without Christ?
Most people are concerned about the physical wellbeing of others. There are a great number of concerns in the world that will testify to that. Food banks, free medical treatment, the Red Cross, free counseling, and financial aid just to mention a few.
We respect the physical life (once its outside the womb of course) but have no real concern beyond that.
If we are ever going to truly make an impact on the world for Christ, then there are some things that we as individuals are going to have to do:
