What do we see when we look at the crowds around
us?
Homeless people - Poor people on welfare aids patients - homosexuals
- drug addicts people in the middle of divorce angry teenagers - alcoholics
- pregnant teenagers lonely housewives arrogant rich people - power hungry
bosses Pornographers - Criminals - Mormons Jehovah’s Witnesses - New Agers
Unfaithful husbands and wives Dishonest politicians
Do we think things like:
“It’s their own fault!” “They deserve it!”
“They made their bed now let them lie in it!”
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
“They could do better if they just tried or wanted to!”
These People Are Captives!
2 Cor 4:4
“The god of this age has blinded the minds
of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
These people are victims! They have been taken captive by Satan and
are chained in his dungeon!
People all around us are hurting! They are confused. They are without
hope and without God! Yet they are searching! But they are searching in
all the wrong places.
If we don’t reach out to them and introduce them to Jesus who will?
Who will set them free?
We must begin looking at the people around us through the eyes of
God’s love!
If we have no burden to share the love of Jesus with people, we are
missing the very heart of God!
Jesus’ View of People
Matthew 9:35-36
“Jesus went through all the towns and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the
kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd.”
Jesus spoke to the people about the good news of the kingdom of God.
God’s love for them God’s willingness to forgive them God’s promise
of eternal life God’s promise of deliverance from the destructive addictions
of life
Jesus saw the crowds (Do we?)
Jesus had compassion on them (Do we have compassion or are we filled
with disgust?)
Jesus saw the people around him as harassed, helpless, and like sheep
without a shepherd.
God’s Heart
1. Father
John 3:16-17
"For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but to save the world through him.”
¨ The Father loved the world so much that He was willing to send
His Son into the world to save the lost.
2. Son
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save
what was lost."
The Son came into the world to save the lost.
3. Holy Spirit
Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The Holy Spirit gives us power to be witnesses to save the lost
4. Church
Matthew 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
Jesus commissioned the church to go into all the world to save the
lost
The Heart of God is consumed
with a passion to save the lost!
Characteristics of Unbelievers (The Lost!)
There is a direct relationship between the vertical and the horizontal
aspects of a person’s existence
The Creation of Interpersonal Relationships
Genesis 1:1, 31
“In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth...God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
God created the world
Genesis 1:26
“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image,
in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds
of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures
that move along the ground."
God created man to have dominion over God’s creation and to have
fellowship with Him (vertical relationship established)
Genesis 2:18; 21-25
“The LORD God said, "It is not good for
the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him...So the LORD
God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping,
he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then
the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and
he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out
of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife
were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
God created woman because He saw that it was not good for man to
be alone (horizontal relationship established)
Genesis 1:27-29
"So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God
blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill
the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of
the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then
God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole
earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours
for food.”
¨ God blessed the man and the woman
¨ God provided food for the man and woman
¨ God gave the couple dominion over His creation
¨ God provided for the first family (extended horizontal relationships
established)
The Destruction of Interpersonal Relationships
Genesis 3:1-7
“Now the serpent was more crafty than
any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did
God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman
said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but
God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle
of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will
not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good
for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom,
she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with
her, and he ate it.
¨ The serpent tried to get the woman to doubt God’s Word
¨ The serpent contradicted God’s Word and the woman believed
him
¨ The woman made the decision to eat and also gave some to her
husband and he decided to eat
The problem was not eating the fruit. The problem
was disobeying God!
The Consequences of Disobedience
Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and
made coverings for themselves.”
¨ Shame entered the relationship between the man and the woman
Genesis 3:8-13
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound
of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD
God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the
garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And he said, "Who
told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded
you not to eat from?" The man said, "The woman you put here with me-- she
gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Then the LORD God said
to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent
deceived me, and I ate."
¨ Fear entered the vertical relationship between the man and
woman and God
¨ Blame entered the horizontal relationship between the man and
the woman
SIN entered the world as a result of the decisions made by the man
and the woman with two dire consequences for the entire human race:
Human beings’ vertical relationship with God was broken
Human beings’ horizontal relationships with each other were broken
CENTRAL TRUTH — People can not have a healthy, mutually fulfilling
relationship on a horizontal level without FIRST having a healthy, mutually
fulfilling relationship on a vertical level with God!
The Two Greatest Commandments
When Jesus was asked which of the ten commandments was the greatest
He responded by saying:
Matthew 22:36-40
"Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first
and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor
as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
We are to love God with all our heart
We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves
In the Ten Commandments the first four deal with man and his relationship
to God while the last six deal with man and his relationships with his
fellowman.
Ten Commandments
-
1. No other gods before me
-
2. No idol worship
-
3. No misuse of the Lord’s Name
-
4. Keeping the Sabbath Day holy
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5. Honor your father and mother
-
6. Do no murder
-
7. Do not comit adultery
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8. Do not steal
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9. Do not lie about your neighbor
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10. Do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor
If you love God you aren’t going to break the first four and if you
love your neighbor you aren’t going to break the last six!
But without God we are not capable of doing either!
In John 15:5 Jesus said,
"I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from
me you can do nothing.”
Most interpersonal problems can be traced back to problems in a person’s
vertical relationship with God.
OUR SEARCH FOR MEANINGFUL, LOVING, RELATIONSHIPS!!!
Our deepest desire is to let someone know us intimately (warts and
all) and have them still care about us.
But we are scared to death that if someone really got to know us
that well they wouldn’t like us and we’ld be rejected.
That would hurt more than we could bear so we decide not to take
the risk, retreat behind our defenses (masks), and remain isolated and
lonely.
We try to make life work apart from God but it
doesn’t!
Ephesians 2:12
“...remember that...you were separate
from Christ...without hope and without God in the world.”
Isaiah 42:6-7
"I, the LORD, have called you...to open
eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the
dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
· People today are Biblically illiterate
· Many people have no idea who Jesus Christ is besides a curse
word
· People are without hope and without God!
People are blind!
People search desperately for happiness and fulfillment in life.
But they search for it in all the wrong places!
TEENS
· Crave intimate, loving, relationships.
· Parents are often busy working, trying to make a living,
and unavailable.
· They hurt because they can’t get the relationships they
want.
· Teens often turn to drugs, alcohol, even suicide to deaden
the pain.
· To fit in teens go with the latest fashion trends.
· They attempt to get love from other teens by practicing
sex.
· Some think if they have a baby someone will love them.
MEN
· Men are searching for meaningful, intimate relationships
too.
· Often they come up with nothing but frustration, pain and
heartache.
· They deaden the pain with careers (workaholics), drugs,
alcohol, and suicide.
· Men try to find intimacy with their wives. If they can’t
some turn to illicit affairs.
· Men often think money or power will allow them to buy or
force others to have a relationship with them.
· To fit in businessmen all dress alike.
WOMEN
· Women are searching for intimate, loving relationships too.
· Women seek relationships through their sensuality.
· Often they come up with nothing but frustration, pain and
heartache.
· They too deaden the pain with drugs, alcohol, suicide, and
affairs.
ALL of us are desperately trying to “fit in”
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (KJV)
UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY!
This age is unprecedented because since the second world war people
have believed that science and technology would be the answer and solution
for all of mankind’s ills. It has failed miserably and people are disillusioned!
If anything, things have gotten progressively worse!
People are searching for real meaning in life.
People are searching for a spiritual dimension in life because nothing
else has satisfied.
Thus the rise of cults like:
-
New Age
-
Occult
-
Spiritism
-
Native American Ritualism
-
Mormonism
-
Angels
We need to be there for people!
We need to present Jesus to people as the one who can and will fill
their needs and their spiritual hunger.
Being strategically positioned means opening up and developing real,
honest, loving, relationships with the non-Christians that are around us
every day.
The process begins:
-
· I develop a loving, intimate relationship with Jesus
-
· I develop a loving intimate relationship with a non-Christian
-
· I introduce my new non-Christian friend to my Best Friend -
Jesus.
1. People are seeking spiritual reality
Church ritual and ceremony alone, separated from spiritual reality
in people’s lives has left a vaccuum and they are beginning to sense the
emptiness.
People are searching for an intimate, personal relationship with
God (whoever, whatever, or wherever that may be).
The enemy moves in and offers counterfeits (New Age and other cults)
2. People are not looking for “religion”
90’s people are “busy” people and they don’t want another “activity”
to attend - especially not a religious one!
They want a faith that touches the very depths of their being not
just “church.”
Too often Christians act as if bringing someone to church is bringing
them to Jesus Christ!
It Is NOT!
Bringing someone to church may be a means of introducing them to
Jesus, but it is not a gaurantee!
It may even be an excellent part of the process eventually; but even
if we succeed in getting a person to come to church our job isn’t finished!
We need to stop presenting our “church” or our “religion” or our
“denomination” and present Jesus to people.
Remember!
John 14:6
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
3. People are seeking meaningful family relationships
Families are falling apart everywhere and people are looking for
answers to keep their families together.
But church families are breaking up as quickly as non Christian families
and the unbeliever sees no difference between themselves and the Christian
community.
The enemy comes along and offers a counterfeit (Mormonism)
Too often we make people in these religions the “enemy”. When in
fact they are victims who have been taken captive by the enemy because
they seemed to provide a solution for their pain.
We need to be careful not to just look for one chance to throw some
scripture at a person once and then run.
Instead, look for an ongoing relationship and opportunities to share
your life with the person you want to witness to.
1 Thessalonians 2:6-8, 11
“As apostles of Christ we could have been
a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for
her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share
with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you
had become so dear to us...For you know that we dealt with each of you
as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging
you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” |
