Sermon for 3/4/2001
Christians love those who are unsaved
Luke 15- pg. 79-80
Introduction:
A. Lynn Anderson, They Smell Like Sheep- Dr. Varner was an elder at the Highland Church when I first began ministry there. Everyone in town knew Dr. Varner. This tireless man had a busy medical practice and ran his own small hospital and clinic. He often dispensed spiritual prescriptions along with his pills. Although nearing retirement age and having many other responsibilities, Dr. Varner still found time to share the good news. Within one year, Dr. Varner brought more than forty people to Christ. So it comes as no surprise, when you run your finger down the ledgers recording the history of the Highland Church, that the most fruitful evangelistic years were on Dr. Varner’s shepherding watch.
B. This church has been around for 30 years and I am sure…
WBTU:
A. Anderson- Today’s elders (mature Christians) must be men of the Great Commandment. They are also called to be men of the Great Commission. Good shepherds are lovers of people who don’t know God.
B. From Luke 15 we see that lost people matter to God. If they matter to God, then they matter to the people of God.
C. The insert in bulletin. Give a PSA for Friend Day.
D. Describe FRANtastic Days. During the evening service.
E. Pass out Friend Contract Sheets. Describe them.
F. May our joy in the Christian faith be like the shepherds who(Luke 2:20 NIV) The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
G. First time and main time this will be emphasized. Make mention but this is the main sermon.
H. Next several weeks we will talk about Jesus Christ. The most important thing.
Thesis: Today we are going to make some general observations from this text (Luke 15) about those who love the people who do not know God.
For instances:
1. Evangelism (Loving people who do not know God) is an act of courage.
A. We must leave our comfort zone and be among people who do not think like we do.
B. We must leave our comfort zone and be in situation that do not compromise our faith but do not make us comfortable either.
C. To love non-Christians we have to deal with issues like alcohol, sexual issues, lack of respect, lack of Biblical knowledge, bad attitudes, foul language, lack of ethics, etc.
D. To love these people we must be strong in the Lord so that we do not succumb to their temptations, and so that we can love them without getting bent out of shape.
E. The shepherd had to leave the sheep. Act of courage.
F. We need to have courage to open our mouths and give a good word for the Lord. We need to have courage to live godly Christian lives among them so that it will convict them of their sins. We will be ridiculed many times for doing these things.
G. We should be ashamed at our cowardice. we are too embarrassed to speak up for Jesus or to talk about our Christian life.
H. Don’t be afraid to invite people to friend day. They may just be waiting for an invitation.
I. Where is the front line in the battle between good and evil? Is it here at the church? Sometimes, but most of the time it is outside these doors. It is easy to proclaim Christ in church on Sunday, but much more hazardous to do it at work on Monday. The front lines are out there.
J. (Rev 21:8 NIV) But the cowardly, …--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
2. Evangelism is an expression of friendship.
A. Friends share good news, friends share their lives, friends share possessions, etc. What kind of a friend would not share the gospel?
B. When we make a good friend, we want our other friends to meet this person.
C. We have a great friend in Jesus. We should want people to meet him.
D. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He loves us at all times whether we love Him or not. He died on a cross for us. He wants to give us eternal life in heaven with Him. He wants to rescue us from hell. He is more trustworthy than any earthly friend.
E. No other friend is as great as our Friend Jesus.
F. The shepherd left the 99 sheep and went for the one. He loved the lamb so much.
G. What kind of friend would we be if we said nothing about him to our other friends?
3. Evangelism is a demonstration of patience.
A. To love those who do not know God, we must develop patience.
B. People can and will let us down. However, we need to patiently and lovingly bring them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
C. Strangers can try our patience but nothing like friends and family.
D. Patience means anger control. It means having a long fuse and a short memory.
E. Having patience or perseverance means that we are working toward a goal and we will not be deterred from that goal.
F. What is our goal? To make disciples.
G. I think of someone like William Wilberforce who was the main force behind removing slavery from the United Kingdom. It took 19 years of politicking for he and his allies to remove slavery from the West Indies. It took 37 years for slavery to be abolished from all of the United Kingdom. It took Mr. Wilberforce all of his energy and time but it was finally done.
H. We have to be patient before and also patient after they come to Christ.
I. May take a long time.
J. The farmer is patient for the crop.
K. The father was patiently waiting for the prodigal child.
L. The woman was patient as she swept her house.
M. The shepherd was patient with the lamb.
N. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation. Why does the Lord delay? For salvation. We need to work with Him.
4. Evangelism is an act of grace.
A. What is grace? Receiving a gift we do not deserve.
B. The older brother in the story of the prodigal son forgot or did not understand this.
C. The older brother loved himself. When he says to the father, “Pay me,” what is he saying? He was serving to receive for himself. What was his real motive for being complaint, for doing all those things at home, for “serving” dad? For himself.
D. Self love. No love for God and no love for others.
E. IF we really love someone, we are happy when they are happy.
F. Everyone needs grace. What does God want?
G. Some people do not see it that way. Give them what they deserve.
H. What do we deserve?
I. We must show grace to others. IF we do not show grace to others, maybe we have not know the grace of God through Jesus Christ.
J. At these parables, the Pharisees and scribes were probably in shock. Their mouths were hanging open because Jesus was in essence saying, “You guys are the ones who don’t get it. In fact, you’ve got everything backwards. Heaven celebrates not when sinners get what they deserve but when they repent and return to God.
K. The first two parables talk about things, possessions. Jesus is saying in the same way that lost things matter to people, lost people matter to God.
L. Some church people today do not get it. In the minds of some Christians, lost people are the enemy. They’re unclean and so, at best, we just try to avoid them. At worst, we attack them in various ways.
M. Do you know what is just as sad? Some Christians criticize and tear down other Christians who are trying to emulate Jesus’ example of hanging out with lost people, loving them, and trying to teach them in a way they can understand.
N. Sometimes I hear things in churches like, “All they care about is the young people. We are the ones who have been members here all our lives and no one cares about what we think or what we like. They only care about the new people and trying to get outsiders to come. What about us?”
O. Where were you preacher? I was sick with a bad ingrown toenail and you did not come to visit me.
P. This is the whining of the 99. This is the words of the older brother.
Q. The point is that we as Christians are not the ones who are lost. We are already found, and we should be seeking those who are lost.
R. Church should not be what is in it for me, but what can I take out of here to share with others.
5. Evangelism is a celebration of Jesus Christ.
A. Why could the older brother not celebrate? Probably because he was not celebrating the mercy and grace of God in his own life. It was all about rules and regulations and working his way into his father’s favor. We do not get into heaven this way.
B. Every story is a story of celebration over something that was lost but is now found.
C. Our hearts should be overflowing with the grace of Jesus Christ. It’s a party.
D. I do not think that the church rejoices enough. Sometimes we are like the older son.
E. We all grumble and groan enough.
F. All of us should rejoice, celebrate. Why?
G. Sinners covered with leprosy, sickness, vilest of the vile, but we have been made whole, set free.
H. Heaven is our home.
I. Austin, Teresa.
J. We are so much like heaven when we are praising, rejoicing, showing our joy in the Lord. We are getting ready for heaven.
K. Why should the celebration have to end?
L. Churches who grow are churches who have joy in their faces and in their lives. Do we have that joy? Do we show it?
Conclusion:
M. Larry Bryant
"At the completion of the golden gate,
No, the angels did not celebrate.
And when the Wright boys flew their bird,
No angelic shouts were heard,
There is only one thing that we are sure about,
That can make those angels jump & shout.
It’s when a sinner makes the Lord his choice,
That’s when the angels rejoice.
When the light bulb first lit up the town,
No, the angels did not dance around.
And when the Model "T" first hit the street,
It didn’t bring all heaven to its feet.
When the first man stepped on the moon,
They didn’t sing a victory tune.
And when the first computer was born,
They didn’t blow old Gabriel’s horn.
There is only one thing that we’re sure about,
That can make those angels jump & shout.
It’s when a sinner heeds the Savior’s voice,
That’s when the angels rejoice.
B. If that’s true of angels, it should also be true of the church. I think that is the reason the time of invitation is so important.
C. Going to a Wedding Feast. Will you be there?
