God's heart for the lost

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Sermon Notes:

Sermon – God’s heart for the lost.RO 10:14 “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Leonard Ravenhill once said, “Satan would have us increase even in Bible knowledge, I believe, as long as we keep from prayer and evangelism, which is the exercise of the instruction we have received through the Word. What use is deeper knowledge if we have shallower hearts?”Prayer and Evangelism is the exercise of the instruction we have all received over many years. And the purpose of this instruction is to equip our feet – beautiful feet – to bring good news to others!One wise Christian once said, “Many things in the Bible I cannot understand; many things in the Bible I only think I understand; but there are many things in the Bible I cannot misunderstand” We must never misunderstand God’s desire to reach men and women with the good news of the gospel. Though we are fallen creatures and immeasurable miles from His standards of righteousness, He still loves us! And because of this love, He wants to use us to reach others.. John 4:35, “Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

Jesus tells his followers to “open their eyes”; “to look”, and to see that people are “ripe” for the gospel. This should greatly encourage us this morning, because if this is what Jesus wants us to do, He will make provision for, precisely because it is His will!

However, there is one vital ingredient that we must have. We need God’s passion in our lives! You know, if God never had any passion, he wouldn’t love us the way He does! GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD! That word ‘so’ is his passion!

Did you know that Jeremiah the prophet had passion – he called it “fire in his bones!” He said the Word of God was like a fire within him (5:14; 23:29) and He didn’t want his own people lost and deceived. WE NEED THE FIRE OF GOD! I heard recently that people don’t change when they see the light; they change when they feel the heat! That is so true! You and I must feel the heat before we can truly be effective in our witness. Look at a Tea Bag – dropped in hot water, the heat gives the tea leaves the energy it needs to infuse the tea into the water. Not so when it’s dipped in cold water! Its just like our lives – they need to be changed by the power, LIFE AND ENERGY of the Holy Spirit. His fire, which purifies us, empowers us and leads us forward with a holy passion and boldness to do His will. Now I’m not suggesting that ‘in our own strength’ we should all get on a boat to China and go preach the gospel, but I am saying that each one of us must stir up the gift of God in our lives and live out of a holy passion for Him. JUDE 1:22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Y’KNOW, MANY CHRSITIANS WILL TELL YOU TODAY THAT THEY WOULD RATHER BE BURNED AT THE STAKE THAN DENY THE LORD - AND THAT IS GOOD!

BUT IT IS A PRECIOUS THING TO SURRENDER ONE’S HEART TO THE FLAMES OF HIS PASSION; HIS ZEAL AND HIS CALLING! 1 Corinthians 13:3 - “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing.”

A religious person as a matter of principle can surrender him or herself to the flames; look at the suicide bombers in the middle East today! They are passionate about what they do; though their actions are not fuelled by love.

We can be passionate about spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, but if it is not fuelled with Love, we gain nothing. LOOK AT ABRAHAM AND ISAAC IN GENESIS 22. We often talk about how marvellous it was for Abraham to offer up his Son to the Lord. Not an easy thing if you really Love your Son. But remember this:- Abraham had seen the Lord; He had heard his voice, and the Lord himself had told Abraham that through Isaac the nations would be blessed. So Abraham knew that even if he were to sacrifice his Son, the Lord could raise him from the dead. But what about Isaac’s commitment! NOBODY MENTIONS WHAT ISAAC WAS WILLING TO GIVE UP! He had to be a willing sacrifice to be bound up on the altar! What would have happened if Isaac crawled off the altar, or even changed his mind! It’s just like church – we all have a responsibility just like Isaac to lay our lives upon the altar of the Lord, but The Lord won’t stop us crawling off it, if we aren’t willing to serve Him! ARE YOU AND I WILLING TO DIE TO SELF THIS MORNING, AND LIFE FOR CHRIST. ARE WE PREPARED TO SAY IN THE WORDS OF PAUL, “‘I no longer live, but Christ lives in me!” Jesus’ heart for people can be seen in MT 4:18; “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." The first disciples he chose were fishermen who were told from the outset that they would no longer catch fish, but men! Quite a drastic career change eh! They must have wondered what on earth he meant, until when he actually took them fishing……………… LK 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.LK 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." I believe there is a time for talk and a time for action. The bible says in 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” In Luke 5:5, we read that Jesus had finished teaching the crowd and now it was time to go into the vast ocean and do some serious fishing:- LK 5:5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." LK 5:6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. This is a prophetic picture of the church. Acts 2 tells us that the birth of the church brought the birth of 1000’s of believers in a moment’s preaching. In the year 2006 there are more Christians alive today than all the previous generations added together. It was harvest time at the launch of the church and its harvest time at the end of the age. And to prove the point, Jesus taught about fishermen catching men at the end of the age. MT 13:47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And to prove the point even further, he appeared to the disciples after his resurrection as they were fishing; Both times - both at the start of his ministry and at the end there was a miraculous catch of fish. JN 21:4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. JN 21:5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. JN 21:6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Again, Jesus reminds them ‘whilst fishing’ of what he had taught and said to them on many previous occasions -You are fishers of men – something new to catch….. I’ve still got that job waiting for you, FISHERS OF MEN! This for me is a beautiful picture ……….. Just as it was in the beginning – so it was at the end - a reminder that they were fishers of men, and that there was a miraculous catch to be had! John 14:12 says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

No wonder Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs ahead of him into the places that He would visit, for they were preparing the ground for Jesus’ visit. And this is in a very real sense what we will be doing when we pray and seek the heart of God – we are preparing the soil of people’s hearts with God’s Word. We read in LK 10:1, “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” I’ve mentioned before that one of the most terrible things that Jesus said, was:- MT 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

That scripture reminds me that following Jesus requires that I am completely abandoned to Him – no baggage. I cant proceed through the narrow gate unless I lay everything – all of me at His feet. And the Road is narrow – The journey of faith will not allow me to carry anything that stops me walking on a narrow path. So I guess in some way, we all experience stop/start, stop/start as we learn obedience to Christ.

How many of us believe that separation from God is a real reality for people who reject God? (hands up please?) How many of us believe that separation from God is a most unpleasant, awful experience? (hands up please?) Though we may acknowledge this with our heads, how many of us have allowed this truth to penetrate the depths of our hearts? When was the last time we wept in the Spirit for lost people? When was the last time that we prayed earnestly that the Lord would open up an opportunity for us to witness for Him? B.B. Warfield had a correct understanding of God when He said, “It’s not difficult to understand why a just God does not save sinners, but how a just God saves any sinners.” 1TH 1:2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our labour must be prompted by love – Love for God – and love for our neighbour.

Quote from Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones book, 'Revival': -

“One can be interested in evangelism and reaching the lost; the question is, do you have a grief in your heart and mind because of the state and future of the unbeliever. Paul the Apostle wished he could be cut off for the sake of his people, if it meant that they could be saved. If we are earnest in what we believe, and that is, Hell is real for the unbeliever, we should cry out to God to be used to reach such people." WE CAN BRING GOOD NEWS TO THESE PEOPLE. WE CAN DO IT! Ephesians 3 verse 22 says "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...." If the world is asking questions, we better make sure that we have an answer! Now there are many people who are open to the question of God, the afterlife and their place in the world. We may not like the many lies they are being ‘flooded’ with through the TV, Media, magazines etc, but it does create a forum which we can speak into. We need to take some of Peter’s advice:- 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” Friends, quite simply – we must be in the market place for people to see what we have! Do you remember the Apostle Paul’s ministry trip to Athens? Paul walked into a market place which was totally devoid of the gospel. And this morning we will learn just how Paul dealt with this difficult challenge. Have you ever asked the question, “What on earth was Paul doing walking around Athens and looking at statues to false gods?” Let us read this text together. Please turn to the book of Acts, chapter 17 and verse 16:- AC 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them (his colleagues in the work of the gospel) in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Whether we like it or not, we live in a market place of ideas, where everyone is competing for attention. And we must make sure the gospel is seen and heard from our lives. I am sure that we realise we do not live in a Christian country. Our Governments policies are often ‘anti-Christian’, and more-so nowadays with the influence of the European Union. The society we live in isn’t much different from the one Paul was visiting in Athens. Firstly, verse 16 tells us that Paul was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. Athens was named in honor of the goddess Athena. Literature, philosophy, science, and rhetoric flourished; and Athens attracted intellectuals from all over the world. The Romans conquered Athens in 146 B.C. They were lovers of everything Greek, and under their rule Athens continued as the cultural and intellectual center of the world. Its temples and statues were related to the worship of the Greek pantheon (a collection of gods), and its culture was pagan. Therefore Paul, with his Jewish hatred of idolatry, could not but find the culture of Athens spiritually repulsive. You and I should genuinely be distressed to see that our cities are full of every evil distraction imaginable. If we are honest, there are some parts of Blackpool that are very evil! Paul was genuinely upset – for he knew that such idolatry and worship of false gods would blind the people and lead them away from the true light. What was Paul’s response to this? You will find the answer in verse 17, “ So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.” Paul went wherever he felt people would gather to seek the truth. He went to the synagogues and even the market place every day, to see if there was any who would sincerely seek God. We acknowledge that other faiths have some light – certainly not the full light of Christ – for they are made in God’s image and can reflect ‘something’ of His likeness – even though corrupted – but this knowledge and light is not a saving knowledge or light. (Romans 2:14, 15.) In Acts 17:28 Paul skilfully alludes to this, and says “As some of your own prophets have said, “We are also his offspring”. Paul appeals to their basic understanding of God – and uses it as a bridge to teach them more about God. Christians must go to those outside of the church and meet people where they are at. We cannot expect that some of these people will just go to church to seek God, when there are so many options available to them in the world (false, though they are!). I like the examples we find often in the gospels were Jesus enters people’s homes to speak with them. The Pharisees complained of Jesus that “He even sits down and eats and drinks with sinners.” We must think creatively, wisely and often, how we might have an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus. Just out of interest, how many of us have had an opportunity to share our faith with someone in the last month or so? The answer is – all of us! All of our hands should be up. We all have had opportunities – the question is, whether we actually recognised them, and took them up!! This is why the bible teaches in the book of Proverbs that He who wins souls is wise. Do you remember that Paul once said he was willing to be "all things to all men" for the sake of the gospel (1Cor 9:20-22). Well here we see Paul using godly wisdom to proclaim the truth of the gospel. Let us look carefully at what Paul says to those gathered at the court. “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious….” In addressing these men, Paul acknowledges from the beginning that these men may sincerely believe in what they worship. He shows them respect in his opening address. He tells them that as he walked around Athens he paid careful attention to their objects of worship. If we are to get anywhere sharing the gospel with people, we must pay careful attention to what they say. We must understand their world so that we can effectively share God’s word with them.Let us see how skillfully Paul shares with them:- “I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you…” He uses one of their objects of worship to remind them that there is a God (in fact THE ONLY TRUE GOD) that they know nothing about. And it is this God that Paul wishes to speak of. Here’s what Paul says to them:- AC 17:24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 `For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, `We are his offspring.' It’s interesting that Paul tells these pagans that God is not far from each one of us. You and I must find common ground to share the gospel with others. Pray that you would have more sensitivity to share the gospel with others. Pray for boldness. Pray for fire in your bones. But above all things – Pray for the Love of God to shape and mold your heart to be the servant he wants you to be. AMEN.