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Friends Don’t Let Friends Die Lost
Would you pull out your
garden hose to help save your neighbor from a fire?
If you were a doctor, would you be able to tell someone if they had a
terminal disease? How about if
you had the cure? That makes it
easier doesn't it? If you would
take the car keys away from a drunk then you should witness to a friend. If
you would sit by the bedside of an ailing family member then you should
invite them to church.
God has called upon the
people of GBC to buckle down and make the big decisions about life and
eternity and what is truly important, and to set our priorities upon getting
the gospel out and personally leading people to Jesus and salvation.
And God has called me to lead you to do it!
When
God looks down on
Decatur He sees 2 kinds
of people:
You say, yeah, black and
white…no!
Democrats /
republicans…rich / poor…no!
·
Saved
or
·
Lost
—on way to heaven or hell!
In the Bible, unredeemed,
unforgiven sinners are regarded as LOST, not this politically correct term,
'unsaved.' [Eternity challenged]
2 Corinthians 4:3
But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid to them that are lost:
But he answered and said,
I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Rejoice with me; for I
have found my sheep which was lost.
9 And
when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together,
saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Likewise, I say unto
you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth.
For the Son of man is come
to seek and to save that which was lost.
Amazing Grace…I once was
LOST…
What does it mean to die
lost?
The best description I can
give would come by some deathbed quotes from some who died lost:
[we don’t hear as many of these today because of modern drugs / we keep people doped up / die unconscious often]
Author, Voltaire,
atheist who fought Christianity:
“I am abandoned by God and
man, I shall go to hell!” He
died lost!
·
Voltaire note:
His condition had become so frightful at the time of his death that his
infidel associates left his bedside. His nurse said repeatedly, "For all the
wealth of
Thomas Hobbs:
“I am taking a fearful leap into the dark!”
Sir Thomas Scott, Chancellor of
“Until this moment I
thought there was neither God nor hell, now I know that there are both and I
am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty!”
Charles IX King of
"I am suffering the pangs
of the damned!"
"I'm lost! Lost! Lost!",
"Damned! Damned forever!!" –
"Stay with me! Stay with
me, for God's sake! I cannot bear to be left alone!"
"The devils are come! The
devils are come! Hell and damnation!"
"Give me more Opium, that
I may not think of eternity!"
"I can see the old devil
in the bedroom!"
"Devils are in the room,
ready to drag my soul down to hell!"
"Hell! Hell! Hell!"
"What argument is there
now to assist me against matters of fact? Do I assert there is no hell while
I feel one in my own bosom? That there is a God I know, because I
continually feel the effect of His wrath. That there is a hell, I am equally
certian, having received an earnest of my inheritance already in my own
breast."
"THE FOOL HATH SAID IN HIS HEART THERE IS NO GOD"
Compare that with
George Washington's final utterance: "Doctor, I am dying, but I... am...
not... afraid." It is reported that he then folded his hands over his chest
and ended his days on earth by saying, "It is well."
Two days after collapsing
on the floor of the House of Representatives of a stroke, John Quincy
Adams said, "This is the last of earth! I am content."
And Patrick Henry told his
doctor as he lay dying: "I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the
religion of Christ is to a man about to die."
[give me liberty or give me death!]
D.L. Moody:
"Earth is receding, and Heaven is opening. It is my coronation day."
John Wesley's
last words, "The best of God is with us."
I've stood beside the
deathbeds of both the lost and the saved, and there is no comparison, even
under heavy sedation.
Bobby Combs:[
“Praise God, here they come!”
Jesus: “Into thy hands I commit my
Spirit…”
THE TESTIMONY OF
STEPHEN A DYING BELIEVER WHO WAS STONED TO DEATH:
"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right
hand of God."
(Acts 7:56.)
ANOTHER CHRISTIAN MARTYR
AND APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST NAMED PAUL SAID:
"For me
to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21.)
2 Cor 5:8
We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be
absent
from
the body, and to be
present with the Lord.
Oh, what a privilege to be saved…o, what a tragedy to die lost! Friends don’t let friends go that way!
1.
The soul winner’s going
The
lost are never commanded to go to church…but
we are repeatedly
told to go out and bring them in! [Great Commission-go ye...ye be
me!]
And the lord said unto the
servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,
that my house may be filled.
John 1:
46 And Nathanael said unto
him, Can there any good thing come out of
…and nothing happens until
we go!
2.
The soul winner’s weeping
v. 6 weepeth
v. 5 sow in tears…
This is about having
compassion on lost people!
We
need a burden!
How long has it been since you shed tears for a lost person?
It’s
high time Christians
stop looking
down on/condemning
lost people and start
loving them.
The greatest compliment
ever paid to Jesus was when he was called a name:
“Friend of Sinners” [Pharisees meant as insult!]
Jesus never looked down on
them, He loved them…
Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
3.
The Soul winner’s sowing
v. 6 bearing precious seed
What is
the seed?
It is the Word of
God!
Lu 8:11
Now the parable is this:
The seed is the word of God.
1 Peter 1
|
|
1:23 Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever. |
This tells us something:
The Word of God
is not only to be gathered around, it is to be scattered
around!
Farmers?
[out standing in your field!] You don’t stand around a barrel of seed
and pray for harvest? You
scatter it…and that which makes contact w/ good ground WILL take root…but
not in the barrel!
It’s not our job to analyze
/ judge the soil…but sow seed in it.
In the parable of the sower,
Jesus sowed seed in 4
places:
By
the wayside—birds of air
ate it
On
stony ground—seed got in on
surface, but rock ledge beneath wouldn’t allow for roots!
Among
thorns—that seed got in and
went down, but then couldn’t get out!
On
good ground—bore fruit
Not for us to decide who will or won’t say yes …we are to invite everyone!
“Don’t waste your time on
him!”
[wonder if that was
ever said of you before saved?]
I Cor. 3:6 I have planted, Apollos
watered; but God gave the increase.
4.
The Soul winner’s Reaping
2 key
words in our text:
v. 6
“doubtless” be bringing
his sheaves
v. 5
“shall” reap in joy!
There’s no joy I’ve ever
experienced as a Christian like being a part of someone’s salvation / what a
thrill!
I’ve had the privilege of
preaching to hundreds / singing to thousands / now writing for tens of
thousands…but there’s no joy like that 1 on 1 time…hand picked fruit!
With very rare exception I
say that we aren’t doing what we’ve talked about today…because our text says
if we were, we would DOUBTLESS produce fruit.
Several of us could line up at the end of the year having each one
reached one, but many could not.
[got yours?]
We shouldn’t hide the
truth, shouldn’t be afraid to take our stand.
Some say, I love to talk about the Lord / yes, w/ those who will
definitely agree, we do, but...
II Cor. 4:3 but if our gospel is hid, it is hid to them that are lost!
“Don’t say that…I’m sowing
seed, I’m trying…”
Great!
According to God today, you SHALL reap in joy…
DOUBTLESS! You will reach
one, you will get yours!
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