Extreme Street Preaching.

A Passion For Lost Souls.

I spent the past few days at my parents house south of Natchitoches, LA- way out in the country. On Monday afternoon, Hurricane Gustav came and took our electricity out. It is actually still out today. We’ve been running on a generator that it powered by the PTO on the back of our tractor for a couple of days now. We have to give the tractor a break every few hours or it will overheat. During the first several hours without power I sat down with my Bible and a candle and began to read. I opened my Bible to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and started in.

After reading the entire book in a short period of time and then reviewing it all again, I came away with a great appreciation for just how sold-out, radical and on-fire Paul was. This man would do anything that he have the chance to witness to someone. He would do whatever it took to get around even the greatest obstacle. He would do anything to further the gospel. That impressed me.

In chapter nine, verse twelve he writes concerning the issue of eating food offered to idols, “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” I think it would be the natural human tendency of most people to throw it back in the face of those who were offended and say, “Come one man, I have liberty in Christ – give me a break.” But that is not what Paul does. He says that he would willingly swallow his pride to keep from causing a brother to stumble. Rather, he says he would endure anything to keep from putting an obstacle in the way of the gospel.

Just a few verses down in that same chapter (9) he expounds on the same thought. He writes in verses 19-23, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” That is hardcore. That is radical. That is awesome. Read that through about five times.

Paul had his eyes fixed on Christ and the only thing that mattered to him was the gospel. He would do anything to be able to share the gospel with others. Read that passage again: “though I am free, I became a servant. To the Jews, I became a Jew. To the weak, I became weak. To those under the law, I became as one under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law. I have become all things to all people that I might save some.” That is incredible to me. And incredibly challenging. I start looking around at how little I share the gospel with others, how little I evangelize and I feel indicted. And rightly so.

Without a doubt, we should all have the same mindset that Paul has. We should be willing to give up all of our rights and all of our pride for the sake of the gospel. If God has shown us the darkness of our own hearts and the reality and completeness of the forgiveness we have in Christ, we should want to spend the rest of our lives telling others about Jesus. I don’t say this as though I have perfected the art. But rather, I am preaching to myself.

Two years ago, I came to Shreveport to attend a Hermeneutics class being taught by a Bible Scholar who directs a seminary in India. There I met several other young men who really had a passion for the Lord and a desire to spread the gospel. I was very impressed. These men invited my brothers and me to attend a Friday night Bible study with them. We came to their Bible study and were amazed. These men were truly “on fire” for the Lord. They had a seemly unquenchable desire to tell others the good news about the savior. I had never met anyone like them before in my life. But I knew that I needed the encouragement of brothers like that to challenge me and encourage me to “seek first the kingdom of God”. From that day forward we have attended the Friday night Bible study and now, two years later, we (my older brother and I) have an apartment in Shreveport and worship with them every Sunday and Wednesday as well. They constantly challenge me to have a passion for lost souls. And likewise, I challenge you: pray that God would give you a passion for lost souls.

They say that 150,000 people are dying each and every single day that goes by. Men are dying in their sin. Dying without Christ. We must tell them the good news. We must tell them that there is hope in Jesus Christ.

Examine yourself.

 Yesterday I didn’t attend the service in Shreveport with my church. My parents invited me to worship with them in Natchitoches. A solid brother had come in to preach from Jackson, MS and they wanted me to hear his sermon. He was preaching out of Hebrews chapter 1 as well as the first few verses from chapter 2. I was impressed, challenged and encouraged by what he had to say. He exalted the Supremacy of Christ and explained why this was the opening thought in this book to the Hebrews, because there was debate among them over the deity of Christ.

As he entered the second chapter he reached verse three, “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” This is such a rich verse. And such a profound question. It tells us not only that the salvation offered through the blood of Jesus Christ is great, but also that there will be no escape for those neglecting this great salvation. He began to expand on the idea of neglecting salvation. He said, “All that you need to do to go to hell is live a moral life, hang around Christian friends, go to a Bible-believing church, profess to be a Christian – and deep down in your heart-of-hearts not really and truly believe the gospel.” I could not agree more.

We are told in Hebrews 3:12-15, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” This is a radical call to examine ourselves and encourage our brothers. And so I challenge you: examine yourself. Put everything in your life on “pause” for a minute. Be still and look into your own heart. Do you have true peace with God? Are you absolutely certain of your eternal destiny? Further, Matthew 7:16 tells us that, “you will recognize them by their fruits”. Do you have the fruit of a true Christian in your life? Do you love the word of God? Do you love fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters? Do you love to discuss the things of God? When you are in a conversation with your friends, do you lead the conversation towards the things of God – or do you tend to shy away?

1 John 2:4 says, “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Do you keep his commandments? Do you love his commandments? Here’s the real kicker: Do you love the things of God or do you love the world? John is radical. John is hardcore. He writes in 1 John 2:15-16, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.”Some people claim that they love both God and the world. That is impossible. Jesus made it very clear that “no man can serve two masters”. Christianity is an all or nothing proposition: either you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength – or you don’t. There is no middle ground.

All of these verses are a challenge to me every day to examine myself and to encourage my brothers and sisters. I pray that God will speak to you through them as well. The stakes are high. The eternal destiny of the never-dying soul of a man is not something to be taken lightly. I hope that God will use you in the lives of others to encourage, challenge and inspire them.

One Amazing Sermon

 In the previous post, I referenced an amazing sermon that John Piper gave at the “Together for the Gospel” conference in Louisville, KY a few months ago. You can listen to this inspirational sermon yourself. Go to http://www.t4g.org/08/media/