The Passions Of Christ - Seeking Lost People Series

The Passions of Christ - Seeking Lost People

Pastor Glenn Newton

March 20, 2005

Text: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

I haven’t figured it out yet, but everywhere I’ve been in my ministry the teenagers have always had a favorite game. On youth night we have always tried to have a balance… 30 minutes for the lesson….and at least 30 minutes for the fun and games…. But one game has always been the one they have wanted to play the most…… Do you know what game that is????/

Hide and Seek.

It was the first game played in the Garden of Eden, did you know that? Remember Adam and Eve? They were given strict orders that they could eat of any tree in the whole garden, except for one…… guess which one they just couldn’t stop thinking about? Eve with her womanly wiles tricked poor ole Adam into eating of that apple…… maybe it wasn’t quite like that… anyway, they both ate of the apple… they sinned against God, their creator, their friend…. The one whom the Bible says they walked with and talked with every day, the one who knew them best…. So guess what Adam and Eve decided to do?

You guessed it…. They decided to try and play the first game of hide and seek. Adam and Eve felt guilty, and they knew they had done wrong… so they ran and hid… well they tried to hide….. Crazy thing…. Maybe you have found this out… I know I have… It’s kind of hard hiding from God.. He seems to always know right where your at. Have you found that true?

For the past couple of weeks we have been looking at those things that Jesus was passionate about, those things that He cared deeply about… I don’t know if we could ever cover them all…. But one thing I do know from reading Scripture and from walking with Him….There is nothing He is more passionate about that what we will talk about this morning….

The Reason that Jesus Christ Came to earth, and died on the Cross, and rose again was so that Lost people could be found…. Jesus Christ… his mission, his life was to seek and to save lost people.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Does that speak to you this morning about how God feels for you? He gave his only Son, Jesus for you, so that He could have a relationship with you. All we have to do is stop hiding from Him, and ask Him into our hearts by faith, and trust in Christ to save us from our sins.

I want you to know this morning that God is still seeking the lost today…. This week has been one of the best weeks of my life… Why? We have had 5 people give their hearts to God, 5 people who put their faith and their trust in Jesus Christ… and Jesus has forgiven them of their sins…. And they are free today… Free.. Amen?

They were lost in their sins… bound up by those chains…. But today they are free… they have been found…. Because the spotlight of heaven never stops burning for you… God the Father never stops loving you… no matter your response to Him over the years… His love never fades… never tires…. Never waivers…. Isn’t that awesome?

There are a lot of things that can keep us from accepting Christ, but none of them make any sense to us after we come to Christ… Let me explain.

I used to think, and I’m sure some of you could testify to the same thought… I used to think once I accepted Christ into my life…. I wasn’t going to have any fun… life would be boring…. Did you ever have that thought?

I want you to understand this morning that Satan, no matter what lie that he would have you believe… he’s a liar… the Bible calls him the Father of lies… his only passion in this life is to drag you to the same destination that he’s headed…. Which is an eternal hell…

That might sound dramatic to you this morning… but it’s the truth… he is a defeated foe… he knows that he is going to lose this war, and he hates God, so the one thing he can do to express that hate toward God is to try and steal the one thing that means the most to Him….. You and me…. God’s creation, mankind.