Seek the Lost

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Recap

we’ve been taking time to look at the things we should be seeking. So we started by saying we should seek God and His kingdom the same way that God seeks after us every day

the next week we looked at Romans 2:29 that said that someone with a changed heart seeks the praise of God, not of man. We looked at different times God praised His people and what a life that seeks God’s praise might look like.

this morning we are going to look at the next thing that we should be seeking, and to do that, we need to circle back to a couple of verses that we looked at the first week.

Matthew 28:19–20 NLT

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Great Commission

when we talk about the heart of God, the purpose of the church, and the mission that each and every one of us is on, it comes back to this. This is the great commission that Jesus gave each of us.

Go, and make disciples.

In order to make disciples, we need to seek out people who are not already disciples. Just like everything else we have talked about in this series, it is not hard to find those who are not believers. There are an abundance of people in our communities who are far from God.

The challenge for each of us in this passage is are we seeking? Are we seeking opportunities to share our faith with those around us? Are we looking for those neighbours and relatives that are lost and hurting so that we can offer them the only person who will bring real hope and healing?

I would dare to say that we aren’t. I know I’m not seeking out people the way I should be. The reason is that we have bought into this idea that Christianity is all about me. It’s all about my forgiveness. It’s all about my relationship with God. It’s about my holiness.

Even verses like the one at the end of 1 Corinthians 12:29-31

1 Corinthians 12:29–31 NLT

Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Kingdom Seekers

You should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. Some translations say that you should seek the greater gifts. I think many of us read a verse like that and think it is part of our spiritual checklist. I’m growing because I can prophesy, I have words of knowledge, or the good Pentecostal one, I can speak in tongues.

The reality is that it is hard to read the Scriptures without realizing that God is on a mission that is so much grander than us as individuals. In the OT, God was interested in seeing families, clans, and even whole nations saved.

Even in desiring the greater gifts or most helpful gifts. These gifts are meant to empower your ability to minsiter to others. You don’t have to speak in tongues in order to have a healthy prayer life, you can have that in English. Speaking in tongues is often a gift that is associated with someone who has been annointed to speak God’s message. Prophecy isn’t about you, its about being God’s mouthpiece for those around you.

You can’t read these passages and ignore the great commission that Jesus gave. The goal is to make disciples. The mission is to make disciples.

How do you do that? Would it be fair that you’ve heard a message like this and never given the steps on how to disciple someone?

1. Pray

What are you praying for? That God would put someone on your heart to reach out to. As He reveals that person, you would pray that the Holy Spirit would prepare their hearts to receive what you have.

The other thing that you may need to pray for is that God would renew your love for Him. For most of us, when you first became a believer, there was an excitement and a passion that came with it. Then life comes along and robs us of our joy. Maybe it starts with us rekindling the fire of our love for Him, or a deeper realization of His love for us.

Everything we do as believers should start with prayer

2. Read the Word

When I say read the word, I don’t mean power through a portion of scripture for the purpose of powering through scripture. I mean read it meditatively. Read it in such a way that it gets into your mind and your heart. What I tend to do is read everything twice, that way I sticks around longer.

Again, it is amazing how the Holy Spirit will bring to mind passages that apply to the situation you may find yourself. You want to get angry and you remember the passage in James that says Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. Let me tell you, that one has gotten me out of a few jams.

We don’t read for the sake of reading. We read to get God’s word inside of us.

3. Carry a gospel with you

on your tables is a copy of the New Testament that we get from ShareWord. I invite each of you to take one for the purpose of handing out. Don’t take it home, throw it on the counter and forget about it. Ladies, carry it in your purse, and every time it gets in the way of whatever you are looking for, it will remind you that it needs to be handed out.

Guys, keep it in your backpack or on the dash of your truck. Keep it somewhere handy so that if the situation presents itself, you can give it to someone. It is really easy to hand out something small like this, and people often won’t turn it down.

4. Share your story

this doesn’t have to be complicated. John 9:25

John 9:25 NLT

“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

Your Story

your story is simple. There was life before Jesus, and there is life after. As a believer, the second part should be way better, way more attractive then the first part.

Here’s an example from my life. When I was younger, I struggled with depression, often longing for life to just end. I struggled with it for years. Then, one day after I became a Christian, I decided enough was enough and I surrendered my depression to Christ. Ever since, I haven’t struggled with depression. Instead, I am filled with His joy, peace, and patience, and I will never go back.

Simple, to the point, but it gives God the glory and gives someone the opportunity to have the same experience you had. It’s not about how scripture you know, but how much of God’s love you’ve experienced.

Will it feel unnatural? Ya but most things do when you first start out. Trust me, it gets easier. If you really want it to get easier, practice on your spouse. Tell you spouse about a time you saw God at work throughout the day. The goal is to become so comfortable talking about how God is at work that it stops being weird.

1. What stood out from today’s message?

2. Take a minute to ask God to show you someone you need to reach out to. Write down all the names God gives you. If you’re comfortable, share one of the names with the table.

3. Discuss at your table a portion of scripture you are going to commit to read this next week. Keep it small and manageable, and check in with each other throughout the week.

4. Think about your story, your before Christ and after. How can you share it with others. If you’re comfortable, share your story at your table. It is OK if everyone already knows, it is all about making it a habit.

Related Media

Related Sermons