Jesus: Seeker of the Lost

As we go to the Lord in prayer tonight we can pray for many things, but can we prioritize souls?

Let’s pray there will be a mighty harvest next Sunday as Christians do something they may not normally do — invite people to church.

Consider 10 reasons to pray for souls to be saved:

Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost

Luke 19:10 (NASB95) “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Why?

God wants ALL to be saved

2 Peter 3:9 (NASB95) The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

1 Timothy 2:3–4 (NASB95) This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God Is ABLE to Save

Isaiah 59:1 (NASB95) Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; …

Jeremiah 32:17 (NASB95) ‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,

Salvation Is His to Give

Psalm 3:8 (NASB95) Salvation belongs to the LORD…

Jesus’ Passion is to Save

John 4:30–34 (NASB95) after Samaritan woman He met at well went top the city and told them about her encounter with Jesus: John 4:30–34 (NASB95) They [other Samaritans] went out of the city, and were coming to Him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

Jesus was so passionate about souls He not only came to earth but He was willing to miss meals to accomplish the goal of winning the lost.

He describe His passion in: Luke 15:1–7 (NASB95) Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

He Was Willing to Become Human to Save Us

Philippians 2:5–7 (NASB95) Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

His Very Name Is Savior

Matthew 1:21 (NASB95) “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Jesus is the Greek for of Joshua which means: JEHOVAH IS SALVATION

He Was Willing to Die to Save Us

Philippians 2:8 (NASB95) Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

God Desires to Show Mercy

Ephesians 2:4–7 (NASB95) But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Salvation Is the Theme of the Bible

Dutch Sheets reminds us in his book How to Pray for Lost Loved Ones:

The Bible is the story of God’s desire to save a fallen human race.

The book of Genesis brings us very quickly to the Fall.

The rest of the Bible is God’s story of His heart toward the human race and His plan to save us from our sins.

Testimony

Barabara Z. called me this afternoon