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Presented, April 29, 2007 am

WHY SHOULD I TRY TO REACH THE LOST?

                Earlier this year I announced that one of the subjects I want to focus on from time to time this year (and for years to come) is the importance of and developing leadership both within the congregation as well as within each of our lives (yes, we are ALL to be leaders – at least in a sense).  A part of this study (and one of the main reasons for it) is to encourage the church to grow through personal evangelism.

                If we were to take a long, hard and honest look at the church here, I am convinced that we would find inadequacies in this area.  There is more that many of us could do to develop in better and godly leaders.  This is especially true in the area of reaching the lost and other forms of personal work. 

As I present this lesson today, it with the acknowledgement that I am FIRST preaching to myself.  I have NOT done as much as I ought to be doing both to grow personally and to help move this church in the direction we ought to be going.  What I am saying is that I can and should be doing more to reach the lost and build up those who are part of this body.  I say this because I realize that if change is going to happen within this church or in my life it has to begin with me!  But even beyond that I say this because I want you to know that I am preaching to myself, as well as everyone here.

I love this church and I want to see us grow the way that God wants us to grow.  We are a special body and we have something to offer the communities around us that they will not find anywhere else.  But adequate growth is NOT going to happen if just one or two people are doing the work.  It is something that we ALL need to be interested in it!

In my lesson today, I present the first of a number of lessons (from time to time) addressing the subject of reaching the lost around us.  Today I want to talk about WHY we should ALL be doing personal work.  As is usually the case in this study I will be drawing from a number of different sources.

I.                     What is personal evangelism?

a.        What is personal work? – personal work is anything you do of a personal nature that will build up the body of Christ that you are a part of.  It includes numerous tasks including:

                                 i.            Visiting the sick and shut-ins, and contacting them.  (Here at Rose Ave. it means completing your group assignments, etc.)

                                ii.            Encouraging a new member

                              iii.            Spending time with your brethren

                              iv.            Personally praying for those who have requested your prayers (and some who have not).

                               v.            Being a good example in your neighborhood and community – this affords you opportunities to teach later on – see Matthew 16:16, 1 Peter 2:11-12

                              vi.            Being a good neighbor – Romans 15:2

                            vii.            Not being ashamed of Jesus in public – such as reading your Bible when appropriate, defending Him and His cause, and having nothing to do with those who blaspheme Him.

                           viii.            Doing personal evangelism.

b.       What is personal evangelism? It is a specific type of personal work in which you put forth efforts to reach the lost with the gospel of Christ.  But even this is more than just conducting home Bible studies and teaching the lost.  It includes what you do to prepare hearts to provide you opportunities to introduce Jesus to them and to receive the gospel.  It includes:

                                                   i.      Discussing Christianity with a friend or studying with them as opportunity permits.

                                                  ii.      Passing out tracts or copies of the bulletin to friends or even leaving them in places for others to read.

                                                iii.      Inviting neighbors to worship services and gospel meetings and/or bringing them with you.

                                                iv.      Teaching or arranging a class in your home

                                                 v.      Encouraging unfaithful and weak members to return to the fold.

                                                vi.      Summarized, it is whatever you do seek and save the lost!

II.                   What are the advantages of doing personal work?

a.        Everyone can do it – There are tasks that not everyone can do - either they are not allowed or they do not have the ability.   For example, only a few can preach or teach a class (cf. James 3:1)
But everyone can do things to build up the body of Christ by being a godly example and lending an encouraging ear to someone that needs it.  We can all distribute tracts and promote our website, etc.

b.       It can be done anywhere & anytime – doing personal work is about taking advantage of opportunities – consider Galatians 6:10.  To do personal work does not demand a pulpit.  It is done at home, the restaurant at lunch, in the car, at a park, in a jail, etc.
Furthermore, it is not always at an appointed time – but can be anytime of the day – whenever opportunity presents itself.  In fact, effective personal work (& evangelism) is done at the convenience of the prospect – not necessarily the presenter.

c.        It reaches all classes – not all will attend a worship service, especially on a Sunday.  Whoever your friends and acquaintances might be, you can talk with them.

d.       It is direct and personal.   While preaching is often general and directed toward the whole audience, personal work is personalized and direct.

e.        It works – There are many churches that go to great lengths to provide opportunities in the community to reach the lost.  These are good things and very much needed at times.  But they are not the ultimate source of winning souls and doing personal work.  That is left to the simple one on one conversation, both by example and teachings.
NOTE: Sometimes we need “programs” especially to motivate and train members to be as effective as possible.  Sometimes, with mass exposure we can introduce the gospel and gather prospects.  But in the majority of cases, it is one-on-one follow-up (personal evangelism) that leads to one being converted to Christ. 

f.         Truly – personal evangelism is to our advantage.  Especially when we consider to Biblical reasons as to WHY we should try to reach the lost.

III.                 Why should I try to reach the lost??

a.        Because I am a Christian
What is a Christian? Look at the word!  Obviously, it is a follower of Jesus Christ.  It means that we are His disciples and we want others to know about Him.  It means that we have put Him first and crucified the flesh. 
2 Corinthians 5:17 says that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. 
Galatians 5:24 says that we have crucified the flesh and its desires.
We ought to want to do everything we can to further His cause in this world – that means taking the gospel to the lost according to our abilities.

b.       It is a part of my responsibilities – Not only are we Christians, we are commanded to teach others.
Matthew 16:15 describes the great commission.  Also Matthew 28:18-20.
1 Peter 3:15 speaks of sanctifying the Lord and giving a defense for the hope within us.

c.        I am expected to bear fruit – John 15:1-2 speaks of the importance of bearing fruit.  It is a MUST!  While personal evangelism is not the only way to bear fruit, it is certainly one of them. 

d.       To show God I love Him – 1 John 5:2-3 says that the love of God is keeping His commandments.
What better way is there to demonstrate love than by telling others about the one you love?

e.        Because Jesus did it -
There are many examples of Jesus teaching the lost.  He loved people – John 15:13, Luke 19:10.
Consider the example of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:5), the Samaritan woman (John 4:7-26), and the houses of “sinners and tax collectors” that he often went to.
Consider now 1 Corinthians 11:1, Ephesians 5:1-2 – imitate God, love as Christ loved, etc.

f.         Because I want to be faithful -
Matthew 24:45-46 – a faithful and wise servant.  Also 25:21 – “Well done, good and faithful servant”
2 Timothy 2:2 says those who are faithful will teach others.

g.       For the sake of self-preservation
If the Lord’s body is to remain for another generation, and if it is to maintain its purity, we must find others to take our place when we are gone.   How truly sad it is to see churches close their doors because the members simply die out or move away.  Surely that is not what God wants!
Notice the trust that Jesus had in His apostles and disciples.  He instructed them as to what He expected them to do when He ascended back to heaven.  He had no other plan!  Over the course of about 3 decades the gospel was preached “to every creature under heaven” – Colossians 1:23 and all was done by word of mouth.  They desired to spread the word of God to others and grow.
Luke 18:8 says, “will the Lord find faith on earth?”

h.       I want to be a proper example to my brethren
We sometimes emphasize the importance of being a godly example to the world.  But what about to our brethren? It is interesting what a few zealous souls (which we are commanded to be – Titus 2:14) to motivate many more within the congregation. 
IF we truly want the church to grow, don’t start or keep criticizing everyone else.  GET out and start doing the necessary work yourself.  Lead and let others follow.  Consider Romans 12:10 which says we are to give preference to one another.  The text actually means to take the lead before our brethren.

i.         Because God will consider me wise – Proverbs 11:30 says, “he who wins souls is wise.”

j.         Because souls are lost! Perhaps we don’t emphasize that enough, but we must always remind ourselves that every soul of man will spend eternity in either heaven or hell.  The saved will go to heaven and all others will be eternally lost.  If we truly understand the terribleness of hell, we will do everything we can to keep everyone we can from going there.
Consider the rich man in the story of Lazarus in Luke 16:27-31 where the rich man wanted Lazarus to warn his brother to avoid that place.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:11, “knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”
Matthew 16:26 speaks of what profit it is to a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul.  Realize that there is no greater work that we can do than to save souls from eternal damnation.

Thus we can see why we should try to reach the lost.  What about you?  As we move forward with whatever time we have left, will we do our best to do better at looking for the lost and all that we can to bring them to the one True Shepherd?  Together we can make this congregation even better than it is right now – if we are ALL willing to make that commitment!  Think about it!