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PASSION FOR SOULS Introduction: (Illus: D. L. Moody - sir that is my business). That is the business of the church and of every believer. If every person that dies without Christ goes to Hell and as Christians we have the truth of the gospel that declares that all who believe and receive Jesus miss Hell and gain Heaven and are forgiven forever; why aren’t we sharing that truth with the lost? Beloved it is not for the lack of a plan or a program but, I believe it is because of a lack of passion! I. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PASSION (V.1) Not motivated by guilt. The motivation is passion. How is this passion for souls developed? A. A. Salvation Experience (1a) There will never be a passion to see others saved until you’re saved! Paul says: ·
I speak the truth as a
Christian. On the road to · Who does he have a burden for? The crowd that now desires to kill him is the crowd he is most burdened for. B. A Spirit Filled Experience (1b) (Eph.5:18 – filled and keep being filled. Filled = control) It is the Holy Sprit (not man) that commutates the burden Jesus has for the lost to your heart. Carnal folks aren’t concerned with lost souls. You don’t get this out of a book or a conference. You have to get saved then you have to be filled with the Holy Spirit – that is how you develop a passion for the lost! II. THE DEPTH OF THIS PASSION (VV.2-3) How deep is this passion to go? How deep did Paul’s passion go? A. It Is Relentless (v.2) “Heaviness” = consuming grief. “Continual”
= without ceasing or interruption. The Church is to have a constant burden
(not just revival time) for the lost. (Illus: Mission & Vision
Statement: Our
Vision: Because we know that God is at work in the world to bring
people into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. We see a day when
every person in our community will have the opportunity to hear the
gospel, respond with faith in Christ, and participate in a New Testament
fellowship of believers. Therefore we will work in cooperative partnership
and unity to set forth strategies, provide
resources, and train to prepare ourselves to effectively achieve our
mission with God in reaching our community with the gospel of Christ Jesus
our Lord. Everything we do is to point us in the direction
to accomplish our mission). B. It Is Radical (v.3) Only the Holy Spirit of God can put this
kind of passion into our hearts! (Illus: Moses (Exo 32:32) "Yet
now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee,
out of thy book which thou hast written.") Sometime we need to be
shocked to reality and to be reminded of what God has built here and why!
I wont you to think of al the lost people you know…where is the burden? III. THE DESIRE OF THIS PASSION (10:1) A. Seasoned With Personal Compassion · They were blessed – they had all the advantages yet they ignored them. ·
They were blind
- (Rom · They’re bitter – (11:3) this is the crowd Paul was trying to reach. (Illus: excuses today…it’s so hard to reach people today). B. Seasoned With Prayerful Concern Because this lost world is blind and bitter the effective soul winner must be a prayer warrior. How else could Paul say, “They’ve killed the preachers before me and they’re trying to kill me, but I’m willing to be cut off from God if it means that they would be saved!” That’s the soul winner’s passion, that’s the soul winner’s burden. That’s something that comes into your heat when you’re on your knees in prayer seeking the face of God and a passion for souls! That’s what we need in this church! That’s what I need in my heart! Conclusion:
This world is growing darker and darker. The redeemed of this world
have the light – To him that has the light Pass It On! |