To Seek and Save
A Sermon based on the Devotionals: Warn Them! Just One Person, Who is Worth Saving, and Eternal Joy.
Discuss John 4 – the woman at the well.
John 4:28-30, The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
John 4:39-41, And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word.
There is a similarity between that event and the demon possessed man of Mark 5.
Mark 5:18-20, And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
INTRO: Yacouba Sawadogo of northern Burkina Faso is known as the man who stopped the desert.
Yacouba used an ancient practice known as Zai to plant trees. The practice worked and in 20 years he successfully grew a forest of 30 acres where before it had been a completely barren area. Others took notice and began to use the same techniques for planting trees as Yacouba used. Chris Reji, a natural resources management specialist says, “Tens of thousands of hectares of land that was completely unproductive has been made productive again thanks to the techniques of Yacouba.”
The determined efforts of one man has halted the advance of the desert, and it saved the livelihoods of countless families. (Wikipedia, National Geographic Magazine, Permaculture Magazine)
One person helped to stop a desert. One person can point many others to Jesus
And, just one person can hold back the barren desert of spiritual darkness.
The woman at the well of John 4 did exactly that. Once she understood and believed nothing could stop her from telling others about Jesus. The people of her city knew this woman’s life had been transformed… And they poured out of the city to find Jesus for themselves.
The former demoniac of Mark 5 and Luke 8 was left behind by Jesus. Jesus had to leave, but he left behind a man determined to tell everyone he possibly could about the great things that Jesus had done in his life. This one man went through the ten independent city states of Decapolis proclaiming Jesus, “and all marveled.”
One man, Jonah, after being in the belly of the great fish three days and nights, was a man determined to proclaim the message God had given him. It was enough to turn thousands upon thousands of people to God and spare an entire nation from God’s destruction.
Saul, who became the apostle Paul after being struck blind on the road to Damascus and encountering the risen Lord, after that, He would let nothing stop him from sharing the truth about Jesus.
The woman of John 4, the man of Mark 5, and the apostle Paul were absolutely fearless in delivering the good news of Jesus.
Jonah was absolutely fearless in delivering God’s message of the coming destruction that was planned for Nineveh. Nothing could stop them from sharing God’s truth.
Just one man, just one woman can transform the world around them when they are empowered by the Spirit of God.
What about your world? Is the world around you different, better, since Jesus came into your life?
Colossians 1:27-29, To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
Hebrews 11:7, By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Just one person can make a difference! Undergraduate student Diane Hartley may have saved the Citicorp Center building in Manhattan from falling down and taking with it other buildings in a domino effect.
The Citicorp building was originally built on huge stilts placed at the center of the sides instead of at the corners as is conventionally done. It is a weaker construction and to compensate for the effect of winds a damper was constructed on top of the building.
Hartley called the chief engineer LeMessurier warning that quartering winds, winds striking the corners of the building, could cause a collapse. LeMessurier did his own calculations and concluded that if the building did lose power if that happened the damper on top of the building would not be able to function. It was determined that each year there would be a one in sixteen chance that the building would be hit by a storm which would cause the 59 story tower to potentially fall causing a huge disaster.
Construction was begun in secret after normal work hours to repair the flaw and was completed by the end of 1978. (Yahoo News 04.21.14; Damninteresting.com 04.12.06)
Diane Hartley made one phone call that potentially saved thousands of lives and blocks of devastation.
Noah was warned by God of the coming disastrous flood and saved all he could.
The apostle Paul exhorts all believers to warn non-believers of the coming disaster they face.
How many have avoided an eternal disaster called Hell because one person cared enough to make one phone call to warn them?
A man that had ignored my own warnings to him in the past as I had urged him to receive Jesus as his Savior. But he received a phone call sharing Jesus with him when he was near death in a hospital. I was very much surprised to learn after the man died that he had believed on Jesus before his death. A woman in our church had made one last phone call and the man was saved.
Jesus came that we might have life and so that we would have it more abundantly (John 10:10b).
So that we might have eternal life, Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:20).
Jesus did not stay in one place, in one building waiting for the lost to discover Him. Instead, Jesus during his three years of ministry here on earth was continuously on the move going from place to place.
He has given us an example.
The example is that the lost are to be actively sought by whatever means are available. Jesus gave up the glories of Heaven to come down to earth with all of the tribulations, temptations, and eventually crucifixion.
To seek the lost, for Jesus it was very costly.
Has it cost you anything to seek the lost?
How are you seeking the lost? Can you make a phone call? Can you send an email? Can you send a text? Send a message? Can you make a facebook post or post to another social media site? Can you get in your car and drive to your neighbor or friend’s home, knock on the door, and tell them about Jesus? Or, can you just walk a few feet to your neighbor or friend’s house and share Jesus with them?
Will you warn them of the coming disaster they are facing?
2 Peter 3:8-10, But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Barry Baker thought that he was having a heart attack and called the emergency number for help. Baker was 59 years old, lived alone and was disabled after having hip replacement surgery. When the emergency personnel arrived at Baker’s home the telephone line to emergency services was still open. The two emergency personnel that responded to the call discussed the poor condition of the house and reportedly said, “words to the effect that he was not worth saving.”
They decided that Mr. Baker was not worth the trouble of trying to resuscitate, and that they would tell supervisors that the man was already dead when they arrived. The entire conversation was recorded over the open line. The personnel involved were arrested for failure to perform “a duty in public office.”
The two emergency services personnel involved in the above event decided that they would act as God and they determined that Barry Baker was not worth saving. I wonder how many other times they have made similar decisions and were not caught? Did they really not think the man was worth saving or were they just lazy and not want to do their job?
The great evangelist Dwight L. Moody wrote, “For the last eleven years I have not let a day pass without saying something to somebody of Christ. Make it a rule that never a day pass without speaking for Christ. People won’t like it. If you are a living witness for Christ it makes people mad against you. You will suffer persecution, and be spoken against, and yet they will send for such a man first when they are in trouble or on their death-bed.”
Moody tells a story of it being late in the day, and he had yet to share Christ with anyone. As he was walking trying to find someone to share Jesus with he encountered a big rough looking man and thought to himself that it would be a waste of time to share Christ with a man like that. However, since there was no one else around, Moody stopped the man and told him about Jesus. To the great surprise of Moody, the man immediately gave his life to Christ with many tears.
Have you ever thought that it would be a waste of time to share Jesus with someone?
Have you failed to take advantage of an opportunity to tell someone about what Jesus means to you because you thought they would not respond?
Do you look at some young people and think because of the way they are dressed, or by the way that they are acting, or by their piercings and tattoos that they would not want a relationship with the Lord?
Do you see older people talking with rough language and think they could never come to know the Lord?
When we fail to share Christ with others are we not doing something very similar to what those two emergency personnel did with Mr. Baker? Are we not taking the place of God and saying that they are not worthy of eternal life?
Who is it that is worthy of eternal life? Who should we share Jesus with?
The apostle Peter says, “The Lord is not…willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Who is it that the Lord would have to be saved? The answer is “all.” The Lord wants “all” to be saved.
Some may reject our witness and the witness of the Holy Spirit through us, but it is not up to us to try to determine in advance who will receive the Lord or who will reject the Lord. Because it is not the Lord’s will that “any should perish.”
Psalm 126:5-6, Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Luke 15:10, Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
The year was 1968. Picture the scene. A firefighter risking his life crawls through thick smoke of an apartment…
He knows that somewhere inside there is a baby.
When a window broke, light came in, and then he saw the crib with the baby. The baby was unconscious, not breathing, and had no pulse. As the firefighter fled the apartment with the baby he began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The baby, Evangeline Harper, survived, grew up to have six children. Last I heard she was working as an assistant in nursing and teaching.
The firefighter, William Carroll, received a commendation and after 34 more years of dedicated service, retired.
Evangeline tried to find Carroll a few times over the years to thank him but was never able to do so until 2009.
Can you picture the scene when they met in person after all those years?
Evangeline says, “Thank you.”
Can you imagine the joy of William Carroll to see this 41-year-old woman who is successfully living life and he is now meeting not only her but one of her children?
Evangeline was not sure that Carroll would even be interested in meeting her or would even remember. However, Carroll says that he would never forget about her even if he lived for a hundred more years.
At the end of their meeting William Carroll remarked, “What a beautiful day!”
With the reunion of Evangeline and Carroll we have a very small glimpse of the joy that awaits many in Heaven.
As Christians we often are saddened by the response that we receive when we attempt to share the Gospel. However, we continue to tell others about Jesus even though our witness is often rejected. We understand why the Psalmist speaks of the sower who goes forth “weeping.” We understand why there are “tears” that are mentioned in the Psalm.
Why do we persist in witnessing, in sharing our faith in Jesus with others?
Because we love the Lord, and it is not the Lord’s will “…that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).”
There is rejoicing in Heaven over every sinner who repents and if there is rejoicing then by the angels, and there must also be sadness over those who reject the Lord. Just as the angels understand the consequences of that rejection, we understand that too.
Just as Heaven is forever, Hell is forever too,
And there is no escape from Hell when you leave this life without knowing Jesus as your personal Savior.
On his death bed Sir Thomas Scott, Chancellor of England said, “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!”
Some bright glorious day in Heaven we will experience a reunion.
A reunion that will be even more wonderful than the one experienced by Evangeline Harper and William Carroll.
It will be more wonderful because this will be a reunion that will be eternal.
All those seeds that you have sown in tears, you will now see the fruit, the lives that were touched and saved.
Oh, what a wondrously beautiful, glorious,
joy filled day that will be!!
Joy that will never end!!