Messages like the one God gave me to preach this past Sunday are very hard for me. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves hard questions that deal with our daily lives and it is hard to be honest especially if the truth hurts us or someone else. I just attended the Krum High School graduation and I sat and remembered that time in my life and thought about all the decisions these young people have to make. Should I go to college and where? Should I join the military and which branch? Should I just take some time to decide? Some of these kids are going to go to a college they really don’t want to go to because their parents want them to go to the college they attended. Some will join the military when they really don’t want to; they just want to please a father who followed his father’s footsteps in the military. If they were honest with themselves they would make other decisions. Lord knows if I could do it all over again I would be more honest in some of the decisions I made. Life is full of hard questions that require honesty on our part. Sometimes this honesty reveals things about ourselves that really need to change.
In the message Sunday I suggested four questions to ask yourselves about how you feel about seeking the lost. In this series of messages on evangelism we have talked about how this is a mandate for us as Christians. For the church to operate properly, evangelism is one of the things that is essential for the church and all of us are called to do it. This is where the four questions come into play.
Where do I stand on seeking the lost?
Do I have a sense of urgency about seeking the lost?
Am I persistent in seeking the lost?
Do I put the proper value on the lost?
This is where it is hard for me. I can’t just get up and ask the congregation these questions and not ask them of myself. I have to be honest because I can’t fool God and neither can any of you. I honestly have struggled with this; not because I am a bad person but because I am human. None of us can have the same attitude as Jesus unless the Holy Spirit changes us. In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables that let us know that God very much is for evangelism, has an sense of urgency about evangelism, is persistent when it comes to evangelism, and he assigns great value to the lost. John 3:16 tells us that he gave his only Son because of the value he places on the lost. He wants for all to believe on him so they will not perish but have everlasting life. So, in order for us to have the same attitude and love as Jesus we have to first be honest about how we feel, even if it hurts, and then ask God for the Holy Spirit to make a change in our hearts so that we too will be seekers of the lost. So can you be honest? I pray that you can.