Presented - Sunday, May 8, 2005
Successful and Unsuccessful Gospel Meetings
As we have been announcing now for some time, our Gospel meeting is about to begin. Announcements have been made and suggestions given to help ensure that this meeting is successful. We have these meetings twice a year and more often than not a lesson (such as this one) is presented to help us prepare. Some might think, “Here we go again!” There is a reason why lessons like this are presented – because we don’t want to forget the importance and reason for such efforts. When something becomes routine, people have a tendency to put less effort into it or they easily dismiss its importance. We don’t want that to happen. Nevertheless, as I present these lessons I try to find fresh approaches to perhaps provoke our minds in a different direction.
With that in mind today I want to talk about a key element that will help determine whether or not a Gospel meeting is successful or not. Why is it that in some congregations, virtually every gospel meeting is met with great success including the building up of the saints and often conversion of lost souls, while in other congregations they are doomed to failure almost from the beginning? Why is it that in some congregations, these efforts consistently build up certain saints while others go through the motions with little impact upon their lives? What is the difference? It can be summed up in one word – ATTITUDE! In this lesson I want to talk about two attitudes: One that leads to success and the other that leads to failure. While these attitudes apply in every aspect of our lives as Christians (including EVERY time we assemble together) we want to make application toward our upcoming Gospel Meeting.
I. Enthusiasm
a. What is enthusiasm?
i. 2) The state of impassioned emotion,.. 3) Enkindled or kindling fervor of soul; strong excitement of feeling on behalf of a cause or a subject; ardent or imaginative zeal or interest…4) Lively manifestation of joy or zeal. (Webster)
ii. While the word is not used in the Bible, the concept is there. It is found in words like zeal, fervor, being stirred up, diligence, etc. It is found in approved examples such as those in the book of Acts where Christians carried the gospel with them wherever they went, in Paul as he stood before Agrippa desiring that all men were as him (except for the chains), the lame man healed by Peter in the temple (Acts 4) and many of those whom Jesus healed.
b. Christians ought to be enthusiastic.
i. Christians are to be enthusiastic in all that we do.
ii. We are to do all that we do with all our might – Ecclesiastes 9:10, Colossians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 9:24 – we are to run our race to win.
iii. The word ZEAL applies to the Christian life – Titus 2:14, Revelation 3:19, Galatians 4:18, etc.
iv. Romans
12:10-11 says, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in
honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in
spirit, serving the Lord;” The idea of being fervent in spirit is this
enthusiasm
James 5:16 speaks of the effective, fervent prayer of the righteous man…
1 Peter 4:8 says, “And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for
‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’”
c. How enthusiasm can lead to success in this Gospel Meeting
i. Enthusiastic preaching
1.
What made much of the preaching in the Bible successful? First it was
the truth, but it was also the enthusiasm with which it was presented.
That enthusiasm caused Peter and Paul to draw crowds.
It caused Paul to say, “Woe is me if I do NOT preach the gospel” – 1 Corinthians
9:16, 2 Corinthians 5:14.
Jeremiah 20:9 describes an occasion when he wanted to quit preaching because of
the way he was being treated. It says, “Then I said, "I will not make mention
of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name." But His word was in my heart like a
burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could
not.”
2.
Usually, when a preacher presents lessons in a Gospel Meeting he presents
some of his best lessons (yes they all ought to be good, but he considers the
effectiveness of these lessons he has preached and see their relevance in other
places). It is our hope that the preacher we are bringing here will stir our
heart with the lessons he has prepared.
It is our hope that he is enthusiastic in the message he has to share.
AND should we not be enthusiastic considering the “product” we are trying to
“sell”?
3. Often the results of godly preaching provoked enthusiasm in others. Consider the day of Pentecost where Peter (and the others) preached and they were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37)
4. We need to listen with enthusiasm. It does not matter how well prepared the preacher is – if we are not listening with all readiness, we will not benefit from the lessons – Acts 17:11 is an example of how we ought to be.
ii. Enthusiastic worship
1.
For worship to be pleasing to God it must come from the heart. If it
comes from the heart it means it is offered with feeling. John 4:24 – worship
in SPIRIT and in truth.
Psalm 122:1 says, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of
the Lord.’”
2.
Colossians 3:16 speaks of the word of Christ dwelling within us RICHLY.
Our singing is to be with “grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Hebrews 4:16 as we pray, we are to come boldly to His throne seeking mercy and
grace
3. As we participate in worship, do we act like we WANT to be here? Do we really act like we mean what we sing and as we say Amen to the prayers (and maybe the lesson)?
4. A note to the song leaders – YOU SET THE TONE for the service. Often when the singing is enthusiastic and heart felt (think about what songs you select) it serves to “fire up” the preacher so that he will be more enthusiastic. IF the preacher sees an eager audience he will respond accordingly.
iii. Enthusiastic attendance
1. It goes without saying that we need to be here as often as we can be. If we are truly interested in seeing this work succeed we will be here at EVERY possible opportunity we can.
2. Our attendance tells the preacher we are glad he has come here. It tells our brethren we enjoy being around them and that they are important to us. It tells our visitors that the Lord’s church is important to us.
3. And of course, we are COMMANDED to not abandon our brethren (Hebrews 10:25) and to prefer them over the world.
4. It is a sad fact that we live in a society where some will simply NOT be able to be here at every service. Employers don’t care and neither do many teachers. But there are many who CHOOSE to not be here. This reflects their enthusiasm for this work. How little will it take to keep us from showing up?
iv. An enthusiastic welcome
1. There are different reasons why gospel meetings are offered today. Some churches have chosen special topics with the intent of building up its members. We still view our Gospel Meetings as evangelistic which is why we advertise and we encourage you to invite your friends and neighbors. While many of these topics will build us up, things will be said to encourage the lost to change.
2.
But how do we react toward our visitors? Some suggestions to help us
show interest in them. Arrive early and welcome everyone who is
not a member here. Let us guard against the warning of James 2:1-13.
Consider leaving the best seats for them.
Introduce yourself and let them know you are glad they are here.
AFTER services, stay around and talk with them.
IF someone you invited attends, show them how proud you are that they are here.
II. Apathy
a.
What is apathy – “Want of feeling; privation of passion, emotion or
excitement; dispassion.” (Webster)
Usually it applies to something you are not really interested in or excited
about. It is the opposite of enthusiasm.
One person described Apathy as, “an attitude of indifference and unconcern
toward spiritual things. It generally ignores spiritual matters in order to
place a greater emphasis on material things.”
In far too many situations today, poor growth in churches or minimal success in
the works they put forth are not a result of opposition to what is being done
but an apathetic attitude toward its success. In fact brethren will stand
behind the efforts and lend their verbal support. But other than minimal effort
– they do little more. Why? It’s not really that important to them. Either
they have decided it doesn’t work or it simply is not the priority it ought to
be in their lives.
b. Gods’ word and the apathetic attitude
i. Matthew 13:14 speaks of the dull hearts of the spiritual leaders of Christ’s day. A dull heart is an apathetic heart. Jesus noted that because of this they stopped their ears and shut their eyes and were rejected by God.
ii. Because of apathy – the Hebrew writer rebuked them for not being teachers (Heb. 5: 11-12)
iii. In apathy, the church at Laodicea was condemned for being “lukewarm” – Revelation 3:15-16
iv. Hebrews 3:12-14 calls for us to “beware” lest we be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (a product of apathy). Vs 14 calls for steadfastness which means we are NOT apathetic.
c. How apathy can lead to failure in this Gospel Meeting
i. Apathy toward God’s Word
1. This apathy comes in different forms.
a. There are those indifferent toward this effort in general (“We’re having another gospel meeting! I HAVE TO go!”)
b. There is apathy toward the message while here – we listen but without the eagerness to learn so that we can become better. Many feel that being “chastised” by preaching is penance enough for our sins.
c. Also visitors from other congregations don’t attend the way they used to. Our lives are so filled with other things we don’t have time to go hear the gospel preached in other places. BTW, do WE go and support their efforts?
2. When members absent themselves what does that say to the few visitors we do have?
ii. Apathy in praising God
1. Do we make effort to be here on time? Again we understand there are some who arrive as soon as they can. Their arrival even though it is late is a testament to their concern for this effort. BUT, there may be some who are habitually late and as such they demonstrate apathy toward the effort.
2. Then there is the worship itself. How is our singing and other things that we do? Are we enthusiastic or apathetic?
iii. Apathy toward our brethren
1. From experience I can tell you how discouraging it is to see empty seats that should NOT be empty. It is discouraging when brethren will not make ANY changes in their schedules to be here for special efforts.
2. Is it possible that our absence is an indication of where our priorities really are? Does it show that this effort is not all that important?
iv. Apathy toward our visitors
1. Don’t avoid ANYONE who is visiting with us. Regardless of how often they are here. How can we expect visitors to take the message seriously when don’t take their presence seriously?
2. Often members see how quickly they can get out the door when services are over rather than staying around for a few minutes to meet our friends and neighbors and let them know we are glad they are here.
Thus we can see the attitude that will lead toward success and the attitude that will lead toward failure. What is your attitude toward this Gospel Meeting? Ask yourself, if this specific work were discontinued (not necessarily the church) would you be upset? Would it be discontinued in spite of your efforts and attitude or because you contributed to its failure? The difference is in whether we are enthusiastic or apathetic. Let us with enthusiasm prepare for this work and do all we can to make it successful in God’s eyes. Think about it.
Adapted from a lesson by Mark Copeland, available at www.executableoutlines.com