The Joy Of Sharing Jesus Series

EVANG 2007 “THE JOY OF SHARING JESUS”

Reaching the LOST-- Colossians 4:1-5

Recently one of our members brought us some

Fresh green beans right from her garden.

They were delicious.

I appreciated them because I know the work to gardening.

In fact you ask any person new to gardening,

What is the hardest part to get used to and what will they say?

WEEDS? No.

They will say... WAITING!

It was true for me as a boy on the farm

SLIDE- My Dad would plant a 3 acres of garden.

That included watermelon and muskmelon,

Squash and pumpkins.

We would plant and hoe,

Weed and water.

And then we would wait.

Oh it seemed to take forever for those watermelons to ripen.

What a special day it was when we cut our first home grown melon.

SLIDE - And after that the harvest came.

What a harvest we had.

When we sow the seeds of God with the people we LOVE

SLIDE When we sow a word of encouragement,

When we share the forgiveness

The hardest part is the waiting.

Waiting for them to make a decision for Christ.

We have prayed with them,

Shared with them

Loved them and

Oh the joy of a soul that has come home to Jesus.

Nothing can compare with the experience

Since the salvation of one soul is so important,.

To follow the law of Love for the lost first we must

SLIDE-- I. PRAY FOR OTHERS.

PRAYER IS THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT

SLIDE Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for

us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in Chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Colossians 4:2-4

These vs. were full of Prayer.

Pray is to the harvest of souls,

What cultivation, raking, seeding, sowing is to a garden.

It is what prepares the soul for the seeds.

I don’t know about you but I would much rather harvest then cultivate or weed.

Pauls says:

SLIDE Ephesians 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words

may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

How many of you have an unsaved person in your family

that you’re praying for? WE ALL DO.

Mark was the last person you would expect to trust Jesus.

He and his young wife were not Christians. And Mark made it clear that he did not need God and his language reinforced his conviction. But, he was willing to concede that his wife and children needed God and the church. So Mark’s wife went to church.

She found Jesus. And she began to pray for the impossible--Marks salvation. The church joined in and after six months of concentrated prayer, a man at the church had the opportunity to introduce Mark to Jesus. The miracle was made possible by prayer and the change in Mark’s wife which had moved him toward God.

Prayer moves the power of God to action.

It awakens angels to ministry.

When God goes after you he will go all out.

SLIDE “The Lord...is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but wants everyone

to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

Now you may say:

Well you don’t know my friend, husband, sister, or brother.

They’re hopeless.

There are a lot of people in the world who would resist God.

There was a bar owner who liked the music at John Wesley’s revival meetings.

He went to the meeting resolved not to listen to the sermon. He sat with his head down and fingers in his ears when Wesley preached. But God desired him to hear it and God does have a sense of human. He has His ways. A fly flew on the man’s nose and when he attempted to drive it away, he heard nine words that changed his life. He heard Mr. Wesley say,“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

From that moment he had no rest in his soul.

He returned the next night, listened intently and was converted.

Prayer can even send the Flies that open ears and hearts.

That’s why its is so important that we began with this ingredient.

First we must pray.

Second We must

SLIDE II. OPEN THE DOOR OF OPPORTUNITY

SLIDE And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that

we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Colossians 4:3

Paul is praying that God will open the door of opportunity.

What is the key that opens the door of opportunity?

The key is when you and I love people

When we care for them,

Show concern for them.