The Reality of Being Lost

The Reality of Being Lost

September 24, 2006

Introduction

        Wednesday evening, many of you were here for my nephew, Dan Cooper’s, presentation on the need of reaching the lost.  The topic of his presentation was “From Feast to Famine.  His point was that during the 50’s and 60’s the church was really growing, but that something has happened, and the church has plateaued, declined, or died in many cases.

               Dan had a word of encouragement.  He preaches in the Northeast—New Jersey.  The people are largely Jewish and Roman Catholic, yet during his time there, the church has grown from about 100 to 300.  After service Wednesday evening, we sat around our kitchen table where Dar recruited Andy and Jonathan to go with him to France this summer where they will work to rebuild a camp facility which the French government gave to the church, but which needs to be restored after being vandalized by rivals of a union group to which it was originally given.

               The point?  Dan is interested in evangelism both here and abroad.  We financially support Jim Corner, Felix, Eastern European Missions, and the Spanish Literature ministry, but how are we doing locally?  Whether at home or abroad, are we as concerned about the lost as we should be?

               When a child, or anyone, is lost or missing, we all become concerned.  The lost we are talking about this morning, is lost spiritually now, and lost for all eternity.

Body

I.        Jesus clearly spoke of the seriousness of being lost.

A.     In His sermon on the mount.

1.   He spoke of the reality of many being lost.

(Mat 5:21-22 NKJV) ""You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' {22} "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire."

2. He spoke of those who claimed to be followers of Christ who would be lost.

(Mat 7:21-23 NKJV) ""Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. {22} "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' {23} "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

B. He had a heart of compassion for those who were lost.

(Mat 9:36-38 NKJV) "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. {37} Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. {38} "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.""

Wednesday evening, Dan said we need work plus prayer.

Incorporated with that—we need volunteers.

We need encouragers.

We need workers together with God.

C. Jesus wants us to have a compassion for the lost.

(Mat 28:19-20 NKJV) ""Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."

II.     There should be a certain fear of being lost.

A.     The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

(Prov 1:7 NKJV) "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction."

B. Jesus had this to say about striving to be saved.

(Luke 13:24-28 NKJV) ""Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. {25} "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' {26} "then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' {27} "But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' {28} "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

C. Paul spoke of the terrible things to happen to those who are without God.

(2 Th 1:7-10 NKJV) "and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, {8} in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. {9} These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, {10} when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed."

III. How are we, as believers, to be affected by the seriousness of being lost?

A. We need to have a certain concern for our own spiritual well being.

Paul said: "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." (1 Cor 9:27 NKJV)

B. We need to be concerned for those who are lost about us.

Paul said, "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. {10} For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. {11} Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences." (2 Cor 5:9-11 NKJV)

Conclusion

I. What can we do to reach the lost?

We need to list them.

1. We need to know the names and addresses of those whom we intend to reach for Christ.

We need to pray for them and for ourselves that we will take the right approach.
If possible, grab a helper.

1. Some religious groups make one the teacher and the other the helper.

2. One can be the leader, and the other an assistant.

3. It’s always wise to share ideas and to discuss mistakes if they have been made.

II. Finally, is your life right with God? Do you need to obey the gospel?

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