WINNING THE LOST TO CHRIST
Acts 1:8
Introduction: Now more than ever, we need to win the lost to Christ! This is the subject I want to preach on today.
This is a time in the history of the world unlike any other time. I believe Christ’s return is near. The Gospel has gone forth, but many people still have not heard. There are people around the world just waiting to hear the Gospel.
While I was in college, almost every day the whole student body would begin chapel by saying, “The most sobering reality in the world today is that people are dying and going to hell today.” What a terrifying fact! Some here today have loved ones and friends without Christ. Even more sobering than that is that probably most of us here know someone who has died, and is actually in hell RIGHT NOW!
Let me just say that we need to win the lost to Christ; and the lost WILL be won to Christ. One day we will glory in those who were one to Christ. We will all gather around God’s throne and have a big “singspiration.” Look at Revelation chapter 7.
Revelation 7:9-10 “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”
What a great day that will be! We will sing together with those we’ve prayed for, sacrificed for, and brought to Christ. The hour of rejoicing will come, but now is the time of sweat, and toil, and tribulation for those who know not Christ.
Psalm 126:5-6 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
And now let us turn to the verse that we are going to deal with today. It is Acts 1:8.
Let us read verses 1-8:
“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
How can we win the world to Christ?
I. We must receive God’s POWER “Ye shall receive power.”
Jesus said, “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:15).
Matt. 6:13 “Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.”
Matt. 28:18 “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”
I Peter 1:5 “[We are] kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Romans 13:1 “For there is no power, but of God . . .”
I Corinthians 1:24 “Christ, the power of God . . .”
I Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”
I Corinthians 6:14 “And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.”
Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
A. God’s Power is SPECIFIC “YE shall receive power.”
1. God’s power is upon those who are REDEEMED.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;”
Acts 26:18 [When we receive Christ we are turned] from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto [the power of] God.”
2. God’s power is on those who are RIGHT WITH GOD.
I Thess. 5:19 “Quench not the Spirit of God.”
Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
Ephesians 4:23 “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
IF YOU ARE REMEEMED AND RIGHT WITH GOD, GOD HAS A SPECIAL WORK FOR YOU!! God doesn’t want any singular thing in your life—He wants YOU specifically! He wants to empower YOU.
J. Hudson Taylor “In many cases what God wants is NOT a money contribution, but personal consecration to His service abroad; or the giving up of a son or a daughter—more precious than silver or gold—to His service . . . no amount of money can convert a single soul. What is needed is that men and women filled with the Holy Ghost should give themselves to the work.”
B. God’s Power is SOUGHT “Ye SHALL receive power.”
WHAT DID THEY THE DISCIPLES DO WHILE THEY WAITED? THEY PRAYED! THEY SOUGHT GOD!
Acts 1:14“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with the brethren.”
Deuteronomy 4:29, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all they heart and with all thy soul.”
I Chronicles 16:10-11 “Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.”
ILLUSTRATION: Have you ever left home and felt like you were missing something? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that—and nine out of ten I was! When I was in elementary school, I played in the school band. I remember going to band class, and there would always be one or two kids without their instruments. I never wanted to be without my instrument! One day as I was riding the bus to school, I realized I had left my clarinet at home! I was terrified of being embarrassed when I got to band class with no instrument! I told the bus driver to stop the bus. He did, and I walked home and got my instrument! My mom had to drive me to school that day.
APPLICATION: Do you feel you are missing something in your Christian walk? Do you no longer feel empowered by God? Listen, STOP EVERYTHING!!! Go to God and get His power!!!!!
C. God’s Power is SPIRITUAL “Ye shall RECEIVE power, after that the HOLY GHOST IS COME UPON YOU.”
Acts 1:6 “Wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”
EXPLANATION: The disciples here see the resurrected Christ in all His power; I mean a not too long before they had seen Him nailed to a tree. They saw Him die a gruesome death. If He had overcome that, He certainly can overcome Rome!! Their problem was their expectations were too low. They had earthly expectations. Hudson Taylor said “ATTEMPT GREAT THINGS FOR GOD, EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM GOD!”
Missionary A.J. Godon said, “Have we forgotten that there is a Holy Ghost, that we must insist upon walking upon crutches when we might fly?”
Zech. 4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you t walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgements, and do them.”
II Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
I Corinthians 2:4-5 “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
I Thess. 1:5 “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost.”
APPLICATION: The lost are tired of seeing Christians with a profession, but no possession! The minute we get our eyes on the world’s method’s and means we loose the power of God! You say “I can accomplish God’s plan through my own power.” The minute you do that you spiritually paralyzed!
ILLUSTRATION: I read an article recently about Christopher Reeves. He tells of the day that devastated his life:
“On Memorial Day weekend, 1995 my world changed forever. I was competing in an equestrian event in Virginia when my horse, Buck, decided to put on the brakes just before the third jump.
When he stopped suddenly, momentum carried me over the top of his head. My hands got entangled in the bridle, and I couldn’t get an arm free to break my fall. All six-feet-four-inches and 215 pounds of me landed headfirst. Within seconds I was paralyzed from the neck down and fighting for air like a drowning person.
I woke up five days later in the intensive-care unit at the University of Virginia hospital. Fr. John Jane, head of neurosurgery at the hospital, said I had broken the top two cervical vertebrae and that I was extremely lucky to have survived. He told my wife, Dana, and me that I might never be able to breathe on my own again. But my head was intact, and my brain stem—sot close to the site of the injury—appeared unharmed.”
Today Christopher Reeves can only breath on his own for only 30 minutes at a time. He has no power of his own!
THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE TRY TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WITHOUT GOD’S POWER!
D. God’s Power is SUPERNATURAL “power.” dunamis
Illustration: We think of men like Hudson Taylor, and see 50 million Christians today in China. But you see it was not him who was productive, it was God. You see, Taylor said, “The sun has not risen all the years I have been in China, without me being on my knees in prayer.” Oh that we could say that and be productive in the presence of God!
Eph. 3:20 “Unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.”
Matt. 19:26 “With God all things are possible.”
APPLICATION: You can go anywhere God wants you to go and do anything God wants you to do. It’s not you who does it, it is God!!!
II. We must rest in God’s PRESENCE “After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.”
Did not Jesus say, " I am with you ALWAYS"?
Genesis 28:15 says, "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all the places wither thou goest."
God is with us!! His very name is Emmanuel, “God with us” (Mat. 1:23)! Isaiah says that we should think about this fact!
A. God’s Presence is CONSUMING: God’s finished work.
Acts 1:5 “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.”
TO BAPTIZE MEANS TO IMMERSE. WHEN CHRIST BECOMES YOUR LIFE, YOU ARE NEVER THE SAME!!
Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”
I Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
Romans 6:3 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”
Colossians 2:12-15 “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.”
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, He make a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
B. God’s presence is CONTROLLING: God’s filling work.
THE SAME POWER THAT SAVED YOU IS THE SAME POWER THAT KEEPS YOU!
Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”
Ephesians 5:18-21 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
to another in the fear of God.”
EXPLANATION: When a person is drunk he does things he normally would not do. He commits excessive acts! Same with a person controlled by the Spirit. It is a daily process!
III. We must rescue the PERISHING “And ye shall be witness unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Romans 1:14-15 “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome. ”
A. By presenting your LIFE “witnesses” martus
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
1. We must be willing to be SENT.
IT IS NOT GOD WHO DOES NOT CALL, IT IS MAN WHO DOES NOT RESPOND!
Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
2. We must be willing to SUFFER.
Revelation 12:10-11 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Acts 5:40-41 “And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”
Hebrews 11:35-38 “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn-asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mouintains and in dens of caves of the earth.”
I Corinthians 1:26-29 “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.”
ILLUSTRATION: “THE CHOICE” poem #16
B. By proclaiming your LORD “unto Me”
DON’T BE AFRAID TO TELL CHRISTIANS THE TRUTH!
We must not fall into the trap of putting our stamp of approval on sinners so as not to offend them or loose them as friends. We must tell them the truth—they are sinners in need of a Saviour. That is the only thing that will save them. No matter what, we must always be honest with sinners, no matter what the consequences are, like the story of two brothers I read recently:
These brothers were rich. They were also wicked. Both lived a wild, unprofitable existence, using their wealth to cover up the dark side of their lives. On the surface, however, few would have guessed I, for these cover-up artists attended the same church almost every Sunday and contributed large sums of money to various church-related projects.
Then the church called a new pastor, a young man who preached the truth with zeal and courage. Before long, attendance had grown so much that the church needed a larger worship center. Being a man of keen insight and strong integrity, this young pastor had also seen through the hypocritical lifestyles of the two brothers.
Suddenly one of the brothers died, and the young pastor was asked to preach his funeral. The day before the funeral, the surviving brother pulled the minister aside and handed him an envelope. “There’s a check in here that is large enough to pay the entire amount you need for the new sanctuary,” he whispered. “All I ask is one favor: Tell the people at the funeral that he was a saint.” The minister gave the brother his word; he would do precisely what was asked. That afternoon he deposited the check into the church account.
The next day the young pastor stood before the casket at the funeral service and said with firm conviction, “This man was an ungodly sinner, wicked to the core. He was unfaithful to his wife, hot-tempered with his children, ruthless in his business, and a hypocrite at church…but compared to his brother, he was a saint.”
I Corinthians 9:16 “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me: yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!.”
I Corinthians 1:23-24 “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
I Corinthians 2:1-2 “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
C. By pursuing the LOST “unto the uttermost part of the earth”
Isaiah 6:9-12 “And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and convert, and be healed.
11 How long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the land.”
Listen to these statistics:
1700 languages have not a word of the Bible translated.
90% of the people who volunteer for the mission field never get there.
64% of the world have never heard of Christ.
5000 people die every hour.
There is one Christian worker for every 50,000 people in foreign lands,
while there is one to every 500 in the United States.
Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Mark 13:10 “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.”
Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Application: Are you witnessing as you should? When is the last time you witnessed? When is the last time you lead someone to the Lord?
CONCLUSION: We need to win the lost to Christ!! But first we must receive God’s power, and experience his presence. We must be willing to go anywhere God wants us, and do anything for God!
Invitation:
UNSAVED: TO ACCEPT CHRIST
SAVED:
1. GET RIGHT WITH GOD: DON’T HAVE GOD’S POWER
2. SURRENDER TO SERVICE
3. WITNESS MORE
