Opportunities and Ability to reach the Lost
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Who knows someone who is lost?
They don’t need to be rehabilitated
They need to be resurrected
Lost people are not simply nice people who need a little more life
they are spiritually dead people who are incapable of knowing God through their own efforts
According to Scripture
in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rev
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
This is the reality of the condition of the lost
Howard Hendricks said it like this:
The amazing thing, my friend, is not that you die, but the amazing thing is that you live. (We) think that we are in the land of the living on the way to the land of the dying. My friend, nothing could be further from the biblical truth. You and I are in the land of the dying and on our way to the land of the living. — Howard Hendricks
God is a missionary:
He left the comforts of His heavenly home to come to earth
He made made Himself available and intentionally developed relationships
He responded to those who showed interest
AND THEN Jesus challenged seekers to repent and believe
So what are the needs of the Lost?
They need Christ followers in their lives who are willing to enter into their world relationally
leaving comforts
who has God placed around you?
are you willing to enter into their life realtionally to meet their need?
would people consider you a friend of sinners as Jesus was?
not because you hang out with them and become like them
because you intentionally hang out with them and lead them to Jesus!!!
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a
Lost people need Christ followers who are willing to enter into their world relationally
Lost people need Christ follower who have prepared themselves.
Jesus understood the culture and context in which He ministered
He was prepared for the questions
because He was a student of His culture
He was prepared with answers to the issues facing the people of His day
What unique questions is our culture asking?
How has the Father prepared you to answer those questions?
God has helped you endure challenges in your life. You did not face these challenges by coincidence.
perhaps God wants to use you to help others in similar circumstances
Lost people need Christ followers who are willing to enter into their world relationally
Lost people need Christ follower who have prepared themselves.
Lost people need Christ followers to make themselves available
Jesus was never in a rush
He saw peoples interruptions as opportunities for ministry
grieving
hurting
seeking
fleeing life
done
Lost people need Christ followers who are willing to enter into their world relationally
Lost people need Christ follower who have prepared themselves.
Lost people need Christ followers to make themselves available
Lost people need Christ followers to present the Gospel clearly to them!
All around us people are searching for the Good News
God’s Spirit is drawing people to Himself
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
We MUST do our job and tell them!
with Boldness and clearity
John the Baptist proclaimed clearly that the kingdom is near
that repentance is the key that unlocks the door to a relationship with Jesus.
If we don’t tell our friends.... who will?
We know lost people...
we know what they need...
Lost people need Christ followers who are willing to enter into their world relationally
Lost people need Christ follower who have prepared themselves.
Lost people need Christ followers to make themselves available
Lost people need Christ followers to present the Gospel clearly to them!
Do you know that you were called?
Matthew
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mark
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and whoever captures souls is wise.
So know this...
If God called you then there is an opportunity for you to fulfill that calling on your life
to be and do what God made you to do!
But we feel overwhelmed by the task
God does not call the qualified but He qualifies the called
If we are obedient to God and trust Him then we will find what we need to fulfill that task that He has set before us...
in His Word we will find knowledge
on our knees we will gain wisdom and understanding
in our going we will become the hands and feet of Jesus
Invitation
If you do not know Jesus
Romans Road
2. If you are a follower of Christ but have not taken to the opportunities or have not yet trusted in your God given abilities
pray that God would show you and that you would trust Him
3. If you are being a part of reaching the lost already know that we need more hands on deck
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:37-
Let us pray that God would send out laborers