If I Am Lost...
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
There is a poem, by an unknown author, titled, “You Forgot My Sou.”
10,000 Sermon Illustrations You Forgot My Soul
You lived next door to me for years
We shared our dreams, our joys, and tears.
A friend to me you were indeed...
A friend who helped me when in need.
My faith in you was strong and sure
We had such trust as should endure.
No spats between us ever rose;
Our friends were like...and so our foes.
What sadness then, my friend, to find
That after all you weren’t so kind.
The day my life on earth did end
I found you weren’t a faithful friend.
For all those years we spent on earth
You never talked of second birth.
You never spoke of my lost soul
And of the Messiah Who’d make me whole.
I plead today from Hell’s cruel fire
And tell you now my last desire.
You cannot do a thing for me...
No words today my bonds will free.
But do not err, my friend, again;
Do all you can for souls of men.
Plead with them now quite earnestly,
Lest they be cast in Hell with me.
Today we are going to examine, lest we who have obeyed the gospel forget, the dangers and realities of being lost.
I’m so thankful for those that have sought faithfulness, but we must always stay the course and be mindful of the destruction of sin on the soul.
This is especially true of the one outside of Christ who has not had one teach them God’s precious message.
What is it that we must strive to get across to those whose soul can only be healed by the Great Physician.
So, with this in mind let’s examine our lesson for this evening.
If I Am Lost…
Whose Fault Is It?
Whose Fault Is It?
It’s My Fault.
It’s My Fault.
There simply is no getting around the fact that if I am lost it is my own fault.
2 Thessalonians 1:8 (ESV)
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Notice here that hell awaits the ignorant and those that are not ignorant but do not obey the gospel.
Why the ignorant?
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
Summary
Summary
If I am lost whose fault is it?
It’s my own fault, though others might well answer for it as well such as parents, grandparents, friends, etc…
If I am lost…
What Are The Consequences?
What Are The Consequences?
Sin In My Life.
Sin In My Life.
The consequences of being lost is all that sin in our lives.
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Separation From God.
Separation From God.
The sad reality of sin is that it separates us from our loving God.
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
23 For the wages of sin is death…
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
An Eternity In Hell.
An Eternity In Hell.
Hell is not only real it is also permanent.
Matthew 25:46 (ESV)
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment…
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
It also means those that I love that have passed from this life who were ignorant of God’s will or did not obey it are lost.
This is a sobering reality that keeps many people “in sin” because they can’t stand the thought of being in heaven, one day, without their loved ones. However, Jesus address this in Luke’s gospel account.
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
Luke 16:25–27 (ESV)
25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—
Luke 16:28–31 (ESV)
28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
Summary
Summary
If I am lost what are the consequences?
If I am lost there will be sin in my life, there will be separation from my God, and there will be an eternity in hell if I don’t change.
So then, if I am lost…
Where Do I Turn For Help?
Where Do I Turn For Help?
To Those That Will Teach The Bible.
To Those That Will Teach The Bible.
Why didn’t I just say “go get into the ‘good book’ and all will be fine.”
There is no doubt that God’s Word is where you must turn for help to get out of the sin you are living with.
48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
So again, why did I say go to one that will teach you the bible?
The reason for this is simple, God designed the bible “to be taught by person to person.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
So how does one find someone that will teach them the truth of God’s word.
Here in lies the beauty of God’s precious message.
Yes, we need someone to teach us, however, if that person is teaching the truth he will be teaching by leading you through the scriptures and allowing God’s word to “speak to you” through those timeless pages.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Summary
Summary
If I am lost where do I turn for help?
I should turn to those that will teach me the gospel by leading me through God’s word.
Thus, if I am being taught God’s word and being lead through it, if I am lost…
What Must I Do?
What Must I Do?
Obey The Bible.
Obey The Bible.
Yes, someone will need to lead the lost one through the holy writ, but it is up to them to obey it.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
I can’t tell you how many people I have studying God’s word with and them tell me, “if I see something in the bible that is different than I believe to be true, I’ll obey the God.”
And yet, so many times, they see the simple truth and reject it.
Some because they, in all reality, cannot stand the idea of being wrong.
Some because they, cannot stand the idea of their passed on loved ones having been wrong.
Obey God’s Gospel Plan of Salvation.
Obey God’s Gospel Plan of Salvation.
For the lost this means going over the bible in study to find what God desires.
Notice this doesn’t say, “Obey the gospel plan of salvation” because there are many “gospel plans of salvation” out there though in reality there is only one gospel.
It says obey “God’s gospel plan of salvation.”
As we have been studying over the last several months.
Study: Romans 10.17.
Believe and have faith in God: Hebrews 11:6.
Repent/Turn to God: Acts 17:30.
Confess Jesus as Lord: Matthew 10:32-33.
Obey the gospel: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 6:3-5.
Live a faithful life: Philippians 2:12; 1 John 1:7.
Summary
Summary
If I am lost what must I do?
I must actually obey God’s word and obey the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
Conclusion
Conclusion
v
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.