You Never Mentioned Him to Me

Greeting:

Good evening everyone

I want to say thank you all for being here tonight and supporting this gospel meeting.

I know we have many different congregations present tonight and thank you for that.

I’ve said all week how much of a blessing it is to know that throughout the county state and even world there are like minded Christians gathered together worshipping God.

I want to thank Lansden in particular for having me this week.

I said at the beginning it would fly by and it certainly has as we sit here on our last night tonight.

Its truly been a blessing to be here this week and to study Gods word, worship, and fellowship with like minded christians...

Lesson Text:

Ezekiel 33:1-9

Opening:

This week our theme for the gospel meeting has been “The church and the Need to Evangelize”

I can think of no better, nor more needed theme for the church right now.

We live in a world today that needs to hear the gospel.

They need to know the story of Jesus.

Today alone with the sad events that’s unfolded have proven that

The world needs Jesus

They need to see the value in the church and in their faith...

I am too afraid we have become far more involved in the world rather than the church...

We as christians must see the importance of evangelism and sharing the gospel with the lost...

This week we began our series by looking internally at the church.

We began in Acts chapter 2 and studied the early church.

We saw their dedication, unity, and efforts to be the chrisitans they knew they needed to be.

I would encourage us to study there and read there and learn how they immersed themselves in the church...

We established what our idenity should be as the church...

Sunday night we continued to look internally at the church in a lesson that centered around the question of “What can we do to help the church?”

Once we then established our identiy and understood the need and what we could do as Christians to help the chruch we began looking externally at evengalism...

We studied Monday and Tuesday night on the need to evangelize.

We looked at the ideas of “what will we do with Jesus” and what our attitude will be towards the charge we have been given to teach Gods word...

I hope that so far throughout this week we have seen both the command, the need, and the importance of us as the church sharing the gospel with others...

We have well established that it is our duty as Christians..

It is our job to fill the role in the great comission that we have read this week many times...

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Tonight we are going to end the gospel meeting by looking at this idea of evangelism one last time...

Tonight we are going to look at a lesson titled after a familiar song....

“You Never Mentioned Him to Me...”

Lesson:

Many of you may know or have heard this song before

But I want to read it for us tonight...

I want to take these powerful words and stack them up against the word of God to help us see again the importance of evangelism...

It’s page 598 in your books

VERSE 1 WHEN IN THE BETTER LAND, BEFORE THE BAR WE STAND HOW DEEPLY GRIEVED OUR SOULS WILL BE IF ANY LOST ONE THERE, SHOULD CRY IN DEEP DESPAIR YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME VERSE 2 O LET US SPREAD THE WORD, WHERE-EER IT MAY BE HEARD HELP GROPING SOULS THE LIGHT TO SEE THAT YONDER NONE MAY SAY, YOU SHOWED ME NOT THE WAY YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME VERSE 3 A FEW SWEET WORDS MAY GUIDE, A LOST ONE TO HIS SIDE OR TURN SAD EYES ON CALVARY SO WORK AS DAYS GO BY, THAT YONDER NONE MAY CRY YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME CHORUS YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME NOR HELP ME THE LIGHT TO SEE YOU MET ME DAY BY DAY AND KNEW I WAS A-STRAY YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME

Some background on the song...

This song was written by James Rowe and was composed by James Gaines.

Mr. Rowe and Mr. Gaines wrote and composed several hymns that we sing still today such as Love Lifted Me, Home of the Soul, Looking to Thee, and many more.

However I believe this song has some of the most powerful lyrics of any they composed.

Tonight I’m not saying this is exactly how judgment will go or this will be a definite conversation that takes place...

But what I think it does do is provide us with some important thoughts.

What if....

I want us to keep those words we just read in our mind tonight as we go over to our lesson text and read from Gods word...

Now I want us to turn to Ezekiel 33:1-9 and read.

Ezekiel 33:1–9 NKJV

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

We see here how God takes and compares the physical watchmen that would be established during battles and tells Ezekiel that he is to be Israels watchman...

The physical watchman served as the warning sound for his people, if he saw danger approaching he was to blow the trumpet, sound the alarm so to say.

And the Bible tells us there that if the people just simply failed to listen or disregarded the watchmens warning then that was on them...

But if the watchmen failed to warn the people, if he failed to tell them about the danger thats coming then the blood of those people would be on his hands...

So we see here then, God telling Ezekiel he is to be Israel’s watchman in much of the same way.

We see laid out here responsibilities and consequences for the actions of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was to do the same thing fort ISrael he was to tell them and warn them of the destruction that was to come for the wicked...

If he failed to do this then Ezekeiel had to pay the price...

I believe today there is a deep message to be had for us from this scripture.

I feel like the lesson at hand is perfect for this gospel meeting and perfect for us as Christian’s.

It highlights again the importance of evangelism...

It tells us again that we have a responsibility for the souls of those we come into contact with...

We have a job to do, share the gospel...

I feel like a lot of the sermons I preach somehow end up revolving around evangelism.

I told Madison when I got this topic for the meeting how excited I was because i love preaching on the need for us to evangelize...

I feel like this is the case because maybe it’s where I have struggled the most at points in my life...

And I think if we are honest it’s where we all do.

We all could do more, we could all shrae more, we could all evangelize more...

I believe today many of these moral, or religious, maybe even political issues our world faces could be resolved if we simply evangelized more.

If more people had a better understanding of the gospel, how much better the world would be...

Tonight I want to look at this song we have read and this scripture along with some others to hopefully encourage us and show us the need to evangelize more as Christians.

So let’s look back at the song for just a moment.

We see in the first stanza a humbling thought.

VERSE 1 WHEN IN THE BETTER LAND, BEFORE THE BAR WE STAND HOW DEEPLY GRIEVED OUR SOULS WILL BE IF ANY LOST ONE THERE, SHOULD CRY IN DEEP DESPAIR YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME

When in the better land, before the bar we stand...

Tonight we need to start off with a sobering but what should be a hopeful truth...

We will all face judgement one day...

We know scripture tells us this very same thing on many occasions...

Romans 14:10–12 NKJV

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 NKJV

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

We know from scripture that this day is coming.

Every single human being thats ever lived will stand before God...

We will recieve judgement for what we have done both good and bad, we will answer for the choices we make...

On that on that day when all face God there is only going to be two directions.

Saved and the unsaved. Heaven, and hell.

We know there will be people who go both ways.

Are we doing everything we can do to save souls?

Are we doing everything we can so that on that day when we stand before God we dont hear those words, “You never mentioned him to me...”

Tonight we may claim we are a chrisitan, we may look the part, dress the part, but are we faithfully living for Christ?

And that involves us spreading the gospel...

Are we sharing it? Are we living faihtfully...

Scripture elaborates further on that day of judgement for us...

Matthew 25:41–46 NKJV

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Are we making it a point each day to do what needs done as a christian?

Are we doing our part to seek and save the lost?

Do we see the value in every single soul we come into contact with?

Or will one day we stand before God at judgement, shocked at maybe what we hear?

We move on to stanza two and see what is the core of our lessons adntheme this week...

Spread the word wherever it may be heard.

Evangelism...

VERSE 2 O LET US SPREAD THE WORD, WHERE-EER IT MAY BE HEARD HELP GROPING SOULS THE LIGHT TO SEE THAT YONDER NONE MAY SAY, YOU SHOWED ME NOT THE WAY YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME

Brothers and sisters, those are some powerful words...

I know this song, these words, isn’t the word of God, it was written by man, its not the inspired word of God...

But this statement here is backed up by scripture and I think it’s so powerful.

Mark 16:15 NKJV

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

We have looked at this all week but the great comission given to us by Jesus for us to follow...

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature...

To me that echos the words of our song this evening...

Notice the song nor scripture says to spread the word where it’s convenient or easy or comfortable...

But instead wherever it will be heard.

To every single creature...

We are to do as the disciples did in Acts 8:4 where it tells us “all those that were scattered went about preaching the word. “

Do we go about our lives preaching and teraching the gospel of Jesus?

Thats our purose as christians, thats who we are...

2 Corinthians 4:1–6 NKJV

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Paul says we have recieved this ministry, it is his job thats been given to him...

It is his job to renounce that which is hidden, shameful, decietful, and to manifest the truth...

What is that truth he is telling...

He tells us there its the gospel. Its the shinning luight. Its the good news...

That same job is given to us...

Our purpose is to show the light, the gospel message, to those in darkness...

Are we failing to do that? Are we failing to share with others the gospel?

This verse of the song to me has some of the saddest words we could ever hear...

“That none may say, you showedme not the way, you never mentioned him to me..”

Can you imagine hearing those words on judgement?

Can you imagine that faimly meber, friend, co worker, saying those words and us knowing we failed them...

Us knowing we failed to show them the way, failing to share with the gospel...

In the third stanza we see what a few small simple acts could result in.

VERSE 3 A FEW SWEET WORDS MAY GUIDE, A LOST ONE TO HIS SIDE OR TURN SAD EYES ON CALVARY SO WORK AS DAYS GO BY, THAT YONDER NONE MAY CRY YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME

A few kind words could lead to the greatest gift a person could ever receive...

Eternal life with Jesus...

We as Christians must seize every opportunity we are presented with.

We never know the power that our lives can have on someone.

It doesnt have to be a full blwon sermon, we dont have to requote the entire bible from memory, but maybe it starts with a few kind words as the song says.

Maybe our evengelism starts with simply a smile, a kind word, acting like a christian should aact, showing Gods love though the way we live..

Peeople will take notice, people will see we are differnt and they will want to know why...

And thats when we tell them about Jesus.

Thats when we share with them the hope that is in us..

That glorious hope that 1 Peter 3:15 and 1 Peter 1:3 talk about...

The glorious hope we have all from Jesus Christ defeating death

When I look through scripture I can’t help but see the emphasis placed on evangelism and the urgency placed on becoming a Christian and getting others to become Christian’s.

I hope that tonight and this week we have saw that same thing...

I hope we see the urgency adn teh importance of telling others about Jesus...

A couple verses kept coming to my mind this week and that’s where I want to close this evening.

Matthew 9:37–38 NKJV

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few...

Brothers and sisters there is a world full of people out there...

Souls out there, ready, waiting, longing and looking for something...

Will we labor? WIll we work? Will we evangelize...

It takes us all, it is going to take every single one of us tonight to work for the Lord....

If we all started tonight with just one person..just one single person we would double our size here tonight...

Are we willing to put in the work?

Are we willing to do what it takes to seek and save the lost?

Conclusion:

Toonight as we get ready to finihs i=I want us to read the chorus one last time to the song.

I want us in the coming days and weeks when faced witha chance to share the gospel with someone to think on these words...

When we feel like giving up, or making an excuse, or hiding or running away from an oppurunity to share with someone the gospel....

I hope these words come to our mind...

YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME NOR HELP ME THE LIGHT TO SEE YOU MET ME DAY BY DAY AND KNEW I WAS A-STRAY YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME

Tonight is there someone here thats not a chrisitan?

Is there someone here who has never put CHrist on through baptism?

If so lets change that tonight...

Lets make sure that tonight the conditon of our soul is what we want it to be...

Lets make sure that we are a child of God before its too late...

Tonight maybe theres someone here who is a christian already...

Maybe tonight we have realzied that we arent the christian we need to be.

Whether thats due to sin in our life, tempations struggles...

Maybe its us just not being motiavated and doing the things we need to do, sharing the gospel with others...

Maybe we ourselvees have forgotten what the gospel measn to us and the hope of that salvation we spoke of earlier...

Tonight lets make a change, make the decision to say no more to sin and no more to this life you re living and come back home to Jesus...

Tonight if you need prayers encouragement or need to be baptized for the remission of your sins i hope that is a decision we make tonight...