Reaching the lost
Introduction- Prayer
When talking about witnessing, reaching people for Christ, some people panic and get defensive.
When talking about reaching people for Christ
it has a lot of elements of fear
elements of shyness
Perceived rejection, and maybe a lack of scripture readiness.
The Lord tells us in over 70 verses of Scripture that as a believer we are to witness Christ to people we come in contact with.
“Let your light shine before men”…..
Apostle Paul prayed 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 for which I am an ambassador in chains.”
I want to put your mind at ease this morning that witnessing what Christ has done for you is more than quoting scriptures at someone and drawing attention to all of their faults.
We may not all be called to be pastors, but we all called to be ministers. (Repeat)
As a believer, we have a responsibility to share with unbelievers the gospel that Jesus gave to all of a His disciples.
Jesus gave the Great Commission to all of us who profess Jesus Christ as Lord.
Matthew 28:18-20 Text
Jesus in numerous verses gave each of us the commandment to reach the lost for Christ.
Jesus calls all people who do not have a relationship with Christ as being lost.
Matt. 4:19
”Follow me, and I will make you fisher s of men.”
Mark 16:15-
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation (people)”
Acts 1:8-
“And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(For us today)
Highspire, Middletown, Harrisburg, and anywhere that He puts you in contact with people.
I don’t think anyone would disagree with God’s calling, it is how we will get the job done.
It is overcoming fear and not letting it stop us from talking to others.
Illustration
There was a man that was deeply moved by the preacher’s sermon on evangelism one Sunday. Before he left the church, he decided to pray this particular prayer every morning. “Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is”. And he did. One day the following week, he was walking through the city park and sat down on one of the benches. A big, rough-looking man sat down next to him. The man’s size and tough exterior frightened him so he went to stand up and walk away. Just then, the big man burst into tears and cried out loud; “My life is miserable.” I am a lost man. I need the Lord. I need to be saved. Won’t someone tell me how I can be saved? He then turned to the Christian, grabbed him by the shoulders, and pleaded in a desperate voice, “Please mister, can you tell me how to be saved? The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed.”Lord, is this a sign?”
Really ?
Because of our fears, we desire signs from God, we want a special invitation to do what the Lord has already called us to do.
Barna Group has done a study
Women are more religious than men. (3 to 1 )
Southerners are more religious than Northerners.
Married are more likely than singles to be in church.
Uneducated more than educated (Gospel is too simple)
84% believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God
66% claim to have a committed relationship to Christ
71% believe in life after death
66% are members of a church, but 76% of them believe they don’t need to go to church to be a good Christian.
This morning I put a challenge to each one of us.
To be sensitive to what part each of us play in the kingdom of God.
Each believer will stand before God and give account of what we did for the kingdom of God.
Jesus silenced the religious Pharisees with all their rules and regulations, all their actions of righteousness and their hearts being far from God. They tried to silence Jesus by asking him “What are the greatest Commandments”?
Matt 22:37-40
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest Commandment. And the second is like it; Love your neighbor as yourself, all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Love people
With these commandments in mind, how are we doing?
How are we doing as a church? As a denomination?
How are we doing in our families?
How are we doing with neighbors, friends, those we come in contact with?
The key to evangelism is to touch people where they are at with biblical truth and with love.
We are too entangled with the affairs of this life to do evangelism because there is a conflict of priorities.
We are going nowhere fast because we have not defined where we need to go, which is why it is difficult to entice other people to go with us.
Like in our test
Jesus says that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. We are to teach others what He has commanded of us and He tells us He will be there in power and might every step of the way until we die or Jesus returns.
David Watson
“Christians act as if the gang plank to the ship of Zion has already been taken up and the elect are on a pleasure cruise to paradise.”
People fill the pews in America considering themselves safely in the fold while the lost are to fend for themselves.
All of us in the kingdom of God was once “disenfranchised.” It is by the grace of God that someone invited us or took time with us.
We say we are not inclusive, but if we don’t invite people from the community, what are we saying to them? “What I have is important to me, but not important enough to share it with you.”
Listen to one of the quotes from one of my professors years ago.
“Churches which have remained small for some time are not simply miniature large churches. They have a different character all together. The major difference lies in interpersonal relationships. In small churches there are no strangers, everyone knows everyone else. The social structure is predicable and comfortable. Most churches are occupied by people who are related by blood and fear becoming a minority rather than a majority. Some of the members are so defeated and negative that they do not believe that anything supernatural can happen.”
More people, more problems.
Jesus was the greatest evangelist and He enabled people to catch the vision of what the Holy Spirit of God can do through them if they would only believe and be faithful.
In my years of counseling, you learn very quickly that the reason people give to come in is not the primary problem. There is always something else that is deeper. Until you get past the primary problem and get to the real issue, real change or growth will not take place.
The real issue is not that you are afraid to witness for Christ- the issue is that to do that it takes our time, money, and why we usually leave it up to the professionals.
I befriend this person and it will require something of me.
The Holy Spirit wants to work and operate in each one of us. (Repeat)
He desires to empower us to do what He has called us to do and will enable us to speak to those He puts within our lives and our paths.
Very quickly, I want to give you 3 things that will be needed for you to get engaged with people that God puts in you path.
I. The first thing needed is compassion
If you do not care about people and where they will spend eternity, you will not take time to talk to them about spiritual needs.
If you knew that an unbeliever was going to die tomorrow, would you readjust your schedule to talk to them? Yes or no.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Jesus met with tax collectors and sinners- the ones everybody loved to hate. Jesus gathered with them and them with Jesus. Those “lost people” were not running from Jesus but rather toward Him.
Most people have no problem with Jesus, but maybe how they were burned in the past and they need to know that Jesus loves them and God’s people love them.
II. The second thing is effort
As much as unbelievers are watching our lives and what we do in life’s situations, they will not come to us, we must go to them.
If your child was lost in a department store, would you wait patiently in a corner of the store for them to come to you?
You sense the danger and you would go after them.
The shepherd did not wait for the lost sheep, he went out to them.
Maybe in the 60’s, a church could just light the light and people would come, but today an effort has to be made to reach them.
The hardest part of reaching a lost person is to show them that they are lost and spiritually in trouble. That takes effort!
You need to be prayed up and ready to give an account of what God means to you.
How many people have started a conversation about how bad the world is and how their lives are a mess?
That is an opportunity for us to minister to them.
We miss them because we are too busy!
Make excuses-Someone else could do a better job!
You were the one that God put there for that time.
III. The third thing is persistence
Do you know how many times I have heard, “I have tried that, and they are not listening”
Is the town drunk worth your time?
People with bad behavior deserve to hear God loves them?
Bad language, bad jokes, bad breath, bad smell, disabled…do they deserve to hear what God has shown you? Of course they do! Yes!
We do not know what God has been doing and what He is about to do in that life!
You may be one moment away from God doing something supernatural.
Closing
Take the pressure off yourself, you don’t save anyone. It is a God thing! But you can be a vessel that God uses to speak to someone.
It will take compassion, effort, persistence. Are you up for the challenge.
The fastest way to grow the church is not from the pastor, it comes from each one of us telling people how good God is, not being afraid of taking to a stranger. You talk to them and they are no longer a stranger. You have to want to grow God’s church and take personal the call God has for each one of us.
Amen.
